


Fire and Lightning

by sophisticus



Series: Pink Lightning [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Pre-One Piece Canon, Rating May Change, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-10-22 01:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophisticus/pseuds/sophisticus
Summary: Kitty hasn't exactly had the best childhood - conscripted onto a pirate ship at nine years old in order to hunt down Devil Fruits to pay off her parents' debts, she only managed to escape a decade later after accidentally eating a Fruit. Now, on the run from both her old crew and the conned mafia boss who ordered her conscription, she runs into a pirate who claims he can help her escape her past for good - Portgas D. Ace.





	1. Run-Ins

**Author's Note:**

> I've previously done a similar piece called Lightning and Fire (https://archiveofourown.org/works/14359032/chapters/33145080) that shows how Kitty met and joined Ace's crew, but in the time since I've rethought and revamped my canon for it all so a lot has changed. The biggest change: Kitty doesn't leave Ace's crew.

“Last call! Last call for boarding!” The man stood on a crate, straining to make his voice heard over the hustle and bustle of the busy docks. “Last call!” he cried again.

The man glanced at his pocket watch, then tucked it back into the breast pocket of the vest that strained over his beer belly. Time to go.

“Wait!”

The man looked up from where he’d stepped off the crate, turning to see a young woman with windswept pink hair hurrying towards him. She stopped just short of running into him. “Excuse me,” she panted. She pointed at the ship behind him. “Is this ship leaving for the next island? Is there room for one more?”

“Why, yes,” the man answered, blinking rapidly. “But we stopped selling tickets this morning-”

He stopped short as the woman pressed a handful of cash into his suddenly-sweaty palms. “Would this cover my fare? Please, I need a ship _now.”_

“Uh...yeah, sure, that’s fine,” he said finally. “Get aboard. We’re leaving.”

They both boarded, the crewman hauling up the gangplank behind them. Moments later, the ship slowly, _finally_ pulled away from the dock. It had gained a good twenty yards of water behind it when two men burst through the crowd, skidding to a halt just before they careened into the ocean. Even from this distance, it was easy to see their faces turn red with exertion and rage. “Come back here, you bitch!” one of them shouted. “You can’t run forever!!”

“Friends of yours, ma’am?” the crewman asked her dryly. “I sure hope you haven’t brought trouble aboard…”

“Oh, no,” she said hastily. “No, sorry, they...I got proposed to and turned it down, and the guy sicced his friends on me as payback. I’m just glad I caught a ship in time to get away from them.”

The man bought the lie easily. He clucked disapprovingly. “It’s shameful the way men act, as if they’re owed something,” he said scathingly. “I’m sure glad I could help, young lady. Do you have enough money to get where you need? Did you bring anything else with you?”

She shook her head and patted the satchel slung across her shoulder. “No, I usually travel light anyway,” she said. “Thank you so much, you’ve been a huge help.”

“Aww, glad to help, miss. It’s two days to Kitoshima island, I’ll make sure you get there as safe as ever,” the crewman promised solemnly. She laughed.

“Thank you,” Kitty replied, “but just the passage itself is enough. You’ve been very helpful.”

The man smiled warmly at her before strolling off. Kitty sighed in relief, then shot a glance back at the dock where the two angry men still stood. She made direct eye contact with them, and blew them a kiss.

—-

It hadn’t been her _plan_ to run into some of Leonardo’s men and blow her plan to lay low. But then again, even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, and it hadn’t really been an intellectual work of genius to begin with. The mafia was everywhere in this part of the East Blue - it was a fact she’d accepted three years ago, and had long since learned how to work around.

Or so she thought, until a careless mistake meant she had to skip island yet again. If this kept up, she’d have half the damn ocean between her and her home.

It was fine. She’d gotten lucky with her timing of boarding the ship. And the last island didn’t have many odd-job requests. From what little geography she remembered, this next island had a proper city on it, which meant more jobs, and a forest, which meant more places to hide. Keeping a low profile from both the government _and_ the northern East Blue’s biggest mafia ring would be so much easier if she could spend most of her time deep in the woods, _away_ from pesky do-gooder people who would report her to the marines. Maybe this time she could save up a few thousand Berries before having to move on again.

Luckier still, this voyage was only a couple days. It would be easy enough to keep a low profile here, and hope the crewman who’d helped her wouldn’t recognize her from her posters. He seemed pleasant enough, but that didn’t mean he was trustworthy.

The voyage thankfully went without incident, and two days later Kitty stepped onto a fresh new island. Even more people crowded the docks and streets than had the last island, and for a moment she just stood on the docks, overwhelmed. This was so much more people than she was used to.

And yet, the more she thought about it, the more she relaxed. More people to blend in with, less chances for Leonardo to track her down again. And the longer it took him to find her, the more money she could get together before she confronted him someday. Kitty squared her shoulders and stepped forward.

There were a ton of unique people here, likely because of the massive docks and the ships constantly going in and out. There was even a pirate ship in - a smallish ship, with a Jolly Roger of a white skull on a red spade on the black sail, with “SPADES” in white lettering underneath. Whoever those pirates were, they were either very brave or very stupid. Not that the area around here was particularly militant - it was a colorful crowd, but not a single Marine uniform to be seen.

Kitty skimmed her gaze over the people going to and fro, and her eyes stopped on a pair of men, talking and laughing. She ignored the man in the tacky orange hat, and focused instead on his blond friend, whose face had stretched in a big dopey grin as he tossed his head back and laughed at something the other man had said. That didn’t interest her as much as the coin purse hanging from the blond’s belt, swinging freely as he walked. An easy target. She let her gaze wander, as if she’d lost interest, and stepped into the crowd.

Several seconds of casually strategic wandering passed, and Kitty’s shoulder slammed into the blond’s. “Oh, sorry,” she blurted out. Behind him, the man in the ugly orange cowboy hat peered curiously around his friend. The blond looked down at her and offered a smile.

“Hey, no worries,” he said easily. He and the man with the orange hat continued on their way, and Kitty on hers - but now with a fat coin purse in her hand. She quickly dropped it into her bag, keeping the same pace, and keeping her expression neutral. She casually made her way down the street, eyeing a convenient alley way, waiting, praying-

_“Hey!”_

Kitty bolted, slipping easily through the crowd and turning into the alley. Footsteps pounded after her, presumably the dumb blond one. She picked up the pace, ducking down different alleys, and a minute later the footsteps behind her had vanished. She paused to catch her breath, but kept an eye on the way she’d come from. Had she outrun him? Had he decided it wasn’t worth it? Either way, it seemed she was alone.

She allowed herself a satisfied smirk. Not bad for fresh off the boat. She pulled out the coin purse and tugged the neck open, and started counting coins. It was actually a pretty fat purse, definitely a solid steal.

“Well, you’re a slippery one, aincha?”

Kitty jumped so hard she almost dropped the bag. She twisted to see a man sat casually on the roof of the building, smiling down at her. She didn’t even need to see his tacky orange hat to recognize him as the blond man’s companion.

“Why don’t you give my friend’s money back,” he continued conversationally. “He’s pretty bummed that all his cash got stolen.”

“Seems to me your friend should’ve kept a closer eye on his money,” Kitty shot back. Who the hell was this guy? How had he found her so fast? She kept her eyes fixed on the still-smiling stranger, but slowly edged towards the alley exit. Could she outrun him this time? Had he only found her because she’d stopped?

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Aw come on, that’s not very nice,” he said. “What if I say please?”

“I say you’re not nearly as smart as you look, and that’s saying something,” she retorted. “Piss off.”

The man sighed and stood, adjusting that hideous cowboy hat. “Alright, guess I gotta grab it from you then,” he said cheerfully.

Kitty didn’t wait for him to finish. She bolted, feet pounding the stone and dirt as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. This time, she didn’t stop once he’d disappeared far behind her; ducking and weaving through the crowd, not sparing the time to look back, using every trick she had in her book to lose the guy.

Shocked faces, snatches of conversation, shop doors, and other alleys all flashed past. Kitty kept up the pace, running until her thighs cramped and her breath rasped like flames in her throat. The crowds had long since thinned out, and the alley she now ran down was empty except for her, the pounding of her feet echoing off the stone buildings. She turned another corner and

_THUD!_

Kitty collided head-first with something warm and solid. She reeled back and hit the ground hard, stars erupting behind her eyes for a second time in as many seconds as her head hit the stone.

“Oh fuck, sorry, I’m sorry. Shit, are you okay?”

Kitty groaned. A face swam into focus above her; she squinted and a moment later she recognized the face of the man with the ugly orange cowboy hat. She groaned again.

“How the hell are you so damn fast?” she demanded woozily.

The man’s worried face cracked into a smile, and he reached out a hand. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it and he pulled her to her feet. He held onto her hand for a moment longer than necessary, but it ended up being a blessing; she was still shaken from the dual blow, and staggered the moment she was on her feet. Once the man seemed satisfied she wouldn’t stumble and fall over again, he released her.

“You’re pretty quick,” he said, dodging her question. “Must be pretty desperate to run so far just to keep one wallet.”

Now that he was right in front of her, she took a good look at him. Black shorts with a knife bucked to the side, clunky black boots to match. A short sleeved patterned shirt left unbuttoned over a toned torso, smooth sun-kissed skin, a peek of a tattoo under his left sleeve, dark eyes lit up with interest, a smattering of childish freckles across his cheeks and nose. Cute, she thought before she could help it.

Kitty scoffed, pushing that out of mind.  “Whatever. Must be pretty desperate to chase me so far for one wallet. If it means that much to you and your dumb blond friend, here, you can have it back.”

Her toss was sloppy, but the man caught it easily. He didn’t even look at it before he shook his head and offered it back. “Nope. Don’t want it.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

The man grinned wider. “I’m not worried about some cash. I’ll pay Ducky back later.”

“But, but...if you don’t care about it why the hell did you chase me out of the city? And headbutt me?” Kitty demanded.

“Okay, well, I didn’t _mean_ to headbutt you,” the man said evasively. “That was more you not paying attention where you were going. But I’m less interested in Ducky’s wallet, and more interested in your bounty, Mamakoto Kitty.”

If there had been anything like a smile on her face, it vanished at her name and the word ‘bounty’. “I don’t have a bounty,” she said stiffly. Strictly speaking, that was a lie, but her bounty wasn’t government issued or supported. She’d have to be brought to Leonardo directly for her captor to get any Berries off it. An unappealing idea, regardless. “If you don’t want the wallet, whatever, but I’m leaving.”

“Aw come on, wait just a minute-”

He’d barely moved before the tip of a dagger pressed against the soft side of his throat. In that moment, Kitty was glad she kept the knife hidden inside the waistband of her skirt. “I’m leaving,” she repeated. “So piss off and tell Leonardo to leave me the hell alone.”

The man, who hadn’t moved an inch, frowned. “Who?”

“Just...shit. Nobody. Just leave me alone.” Kitty made to withdraw, but the man’s hand shot up to grip the wrist of her extended hand.

“Now _wait_ just a damn minute, I’m trying to talk to you-”

This time, Kitty let electricity build up and flow down her arm, small pink sparks flying as she shocked him good. She knew from experience that it was strong enough to make a grown man jump and swear, and sometimes fall on the ground and twitch for a second before getting back up.

This man did neither. He didn’t so much as flinch as she poured electricity into him, but he did look impressed. “Electricity, huh? That’s got the potential to be powerful as hell. You’re looking better and better. _But_ I still gotta actually talk to you, so could you please just sit still for a second?”

Kitty swore again. She dropped the knife into her free hand, stepped forward, and sank it deep into the man’s gut.

She was expecting the man to flinch, or blood to leak out, or something. What she _didn’t_ expect was a spray of flames to leap up out of the man’s skin, lighting up the dim alley. She actually just stood and stared in amazement for a moment before she realized the flames were licking her hand.

“Shit!” Kitty dropped the dagger and jerked her hand back, finally registering the pain. The man gave an exasperated sigh.

“Are you done? Come on, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Kitty, still holding her burned hand, shot him a look, and at her expression he relented. “Okay but that you brought on yourself. There’s nothing you can do to me that won’t literally hurt you more than it hurts me. I _just_ want to talk, okay? I swear it.”

She squinted at the man. He seemed sincere enough, and was clearly a Devil Fruit eater - a fire type that couldn’t be hurt by her lightning, likely a logia. He was faster than her as well. And he didn’t seem to recognize Leonardo’s name, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still turn her in. He looked vaguely familiar, now that she thought about it, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen him. Still, something about his open expression and non-threatening body language made her pause. “What do you want to talk about?” Kitty said eventually.

The man’s face split into a smile. “My name’s Portgas D. Ace. Wanna join my pirate crew?”


	2. Vice Captain

Kitty stared at the man - Ace - and let her brain try and process this. “You’re a pirate?” she said finally.

“Yeah. I’ve only got around a few million Berry bounty so far, but I’m working on it.” He said it so casually, as if that wasn’t the biggest bounty she’d ever come across in person in her whole life. He wasn’t a joke.

“So...why do you want me on your crew? You don’t know me,” Kitty said. She crossed her arms. “I could turn you in for the money. I could be a marine myself.”

Ace just grinned wider. “Nope. You were a pirate before, and you got out. And this guy, Leonardo? He’s pissed off enough to offer his own reward for you. He sounds like a real dick bag to me,” he added. “And by the way, in case it wasn’t clear, I’m not gonna turn you in. Not only because it would mean turning myself in too.”

This was...a lot to process. “You’re full of shit,” Kitty said, half in order to stall for thought.

“Yes,” he agreed, “but I’m serious.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Why do you want  _ me _ on your crew? What do you get out of it?”

Ace’s smile dimmed, and for the first time, he looked at her seriously. “You remind me of someone. Besides,” he said, his tone lightening again, “I love to spite assholes like this Leonardo guy you used to work under. And I’m strong enough to protect you if he comes knocking.  _ And _ a lightning Devil Fruit can be incredibly powerful. I wanna see exactly what you can do with it.”

Still, Kitty hesitated. He had a high bounty and a strong Devil Fruit, and despite her instincts, she felt he was trustworthy. “That pirate ship on the dock, is that yours? Are you the captain?”

At the mention of his ship, Ace’s chest swelled with pride. “Ah, Piece of Spadille,” he said fondly. “Yeah, I’m the captain. We’re the Spades pirates.”

Kitty stared at him for a moment before a chuckle slipped loose. “Spades...Ace of Spades. I get it.”

Ace grinned wider. “You like it?”

“It’s funny, I’ll admit it.”

“ _ Thank  _ you! Deuce said it was a stupid pun, but I told him it was funny!” Ace burst out. His hands waved as he talked. “Any time the marines talk about me or my crew, they have to say a pun! It lowers their credibility with zero effort on our part!”

Kitty laughed, and Ace’s expression softened a bit. “You’re nuts,” she said, shaking her head with a smile. Ace struck a pose, hands on his hips.

“I sure am. But come on, quit playing hard to get. Will you join my crew?”

She stuck her tongue out at him, which only made him laugh again. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it. BUT, you have to make me your first mate.”

She expected him to be taken aback, or refuse, or try and argue, or anything. Yet again, however, he completely subverted her expectations by simply looking thoughtful. “Sure,” he agreed easily. “I don’t think Deuce will have an issue with it. So you’ll for real join?”

Kitty sputtered. Who  _ was _ this guy? “Yeah, sure,” she said after a second. “But you gotta get me burn cream or something for my hand, too.”

“Oh, shit, right. Sorry.” Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out a little tin, popping it open. “Here, I’ll do it for you, since I’m the one who burned you.”

Despite herself, a blush popped up on her cheeks. “You don’t have to-”

Still, she let him take her hurt hand in his, and watched him smear the burn cream across her knuckles and the back of her hand. It wasn’t a serious burn, but her skin was still an angry red, and the cream left a pleasantly cool, tingly feeling behind. She sighed as Ace’s fingers gently rubbed the soothing cream into her skin. “There, that better?” he said after a minute.

“Much,” Kitty sighed. Her hand didn’t ache anymore, and the redness was already fading away. “Thanks.”

Ace dropped the tin back into his pocket. “Great! I’m hungry. Wanna grab some food? What kind of thing do you like?”

“Uh…” Her brain seemed to stall. “I don’t know. Food? I usually just take what I can get.”

“Have you ever had a bowl of ramen? Like, real ramen?”

“What’s ramen?”

Ace groaned and clasped his hand over his chest as if he’d been shot. “What’s- oh man, we gotta get you some ramen immediately. Come on, I spotted a restaurant a ways back. I’ll buy.”

—-

“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” Kitty slurped up the ramen as fast as she could, hardly even stopping to breathe. God, it was  _ so good _ . And it was  _ hot _ , not just lukewarm like most of her meals. Across from her, Ace watched in amusement, eating from his own bowl.

“Hey there, you’d better slow down before you get the hiccups,” he advised. Despite his words, he’d eaten even quicker than she had and even now pushed away his own empty bowl. He waved to the waiter and gestured for two more bowls to be brought. Kitty ignored him and slurped down the broth, only stopping to breathe.

“Hot!” she gasped. “I think I burned my tongue.”

Ace leaned his head back and laughed. “I told you to take it slow!”

Kitty stuck her painful tongue out at him and leaned back in her chair. “You know, if I’m gonna be on your crew, I need to know about you. What’re you like as a person? What’s your crew like? Is that Duck guy one of yours?”

He stroked his chin thoughtfully as the new bowls of ramen were placed on the table. “Ducky’s one of mine, yes. He and Deuce would tell you I’m impulsive and hotheaded, and they’re right. I don’t back down from fights, even if it fucks me over sometimes. The rest of the crew is pretty similar, but of course you gotta meet them yourself to get a better feel for them.”

“What crew positions do you have?”

“Well, I’m the captain, obviously. Deuce is my navigator. Skull is the doctor. We don’t have an official cook, but Banshee makes us dinner and stuff. Saber is the helmsman, Mihar is our sniper, Dogya is our shipwright, Ossamando is our musician, and everyone else just does whatever’s needed.” Ace counted off on his fingers as he spoke. 

Kitty frowned down at the fresh bowl of ramen. “And your first mate?”

Ace smirked. “Aw come on, Kitty. You asked to be vice captain, and you are.”

“But I was kidding,” Kitty protested. “You  _ knew _ I was kidding.”

“So? You’re capable. You’re smart. You’ve been on the seas long enough to know your shit. I think you can do it. Deuce is my best friend, and was a Spade from the beginning, but he never wanted to be first mate. Too much responsibility, he told me. Of course, he still nags, so there’s that.” Ace dug into his bowl, finishing off half the thing in seconds. “I mean, I won’t make you if you really don’t wanna, but I’ve got faith in you.” He winked, making a blush rise on her cheeks again. 

“You just met me, though,” she pointed out.

“I’m told I’m a good judge of character.”

Kitty huffed. “Well...okay. You’re a Devil Fruit eater?”

Ace smiled, flipping over his hand to reveal a flickering ball of flame in his palm. “Yep. The Flame Flame Fruit, we’re pretty sure. I’m a living flame person.”

She nodded; it was what she’d expected. “I’ve got some questions.”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”

“Does being made of fire keep you perpetually warm, or does it mean you get cold easily? Can you cook food on yourself or would it just burn? Does the fire let you fly? Can you make all of yourself flame or only parts at a time? Does it burn your clothes?” Kitty rattled off the list of questions. She half expected him to lose interest halfway through, but Ace listened intently the entire time.

When she finished, he leaned back thoughtfully. “In order: I’m always warm, I don’t get cold easily, I’ve tried with an egg and burned it, yes I can fly but it’s not easy, I can make all of myself fire but it takes concentration, no my clothes don’t burn and before you ask, no I don’t know why.” Ace ticked off the answers on his fingers. “Does that answer all your questions?”

Kitty nodded. “For the moment, at least. Sounds useful as hell.”

“Sure is! I mean, not being able to swim sucks, but that’s just whatever. What about your power?”

“Shock Shock Fruit. Lightning power, obviously. It’s  _ usually  _ pretty effective,” Kitty said pointedly. Ace just smiled and shrugged innocently. “But I can't make myself intangible or anything.”

“Hmm...I’ve heard of there being different types of Devil Fruits, aside from fire versus electricity or whatever,” Ace said thoughtfully. “Maybe the difference is something like that?”

“It is, but it’s kinda complicated. I’ll explain it later if you remind me.”

Ace’s eyes shone with curiosity and respect. “You really know your stuff.”

Kitty shrugged, feeling self conscious. “I have to. Well, had to. You can’t be a Devil Fruit hunter without knowing what you’re getting into. But I actually had one more question for you.”

“Ask away.”

“You said I remind you of someone. Who?”

Ace’s smile slipped away. “My-”

“There you are!” Kitty and Ace both turned in time to see the blond man, Ducky, finish jogging up to their table. He bent over, hands on his knees and breathing heavily. He pointed a finger at Ace. “You. Too fast. For fuck’s sake, dude. You,” he turned to Kitty, “ _ give my money back!” _

“Oh. Right, I did pickpocket you, didn’t I?” Kitty waved an apologetic hand. “I guess I should thank you for buying lunch, then.”

_ “Excuse me??” _

“She’s kidding,” Ace interrupted. He grinned. “I’m buying lunch...with your money.”

Ducky groaned. “Dude!”

“I’ll pay you back later. Sit down, get some food. I gotta introduce you to your new vice captain,” Ace said cheerfully. Ducky’s face lit up.

“You finally found someone? Does Deuce know? Does he approve? Where are they?” he said excitedly. Ace’s grin widened by a couple molars, and he gestured to Kitty.

“Duck, meet Mamakoto Kitty, vice captain of the Spades,” he drawled.

Ducky’s excited smile slowly faded. “I- she-  _ what? _ Dude, she stole from us and ran, and you had to chase her down. I don’t guess you had a change of heart and turned yourself over,” he said pointedly.

Kitty shook her head. “Well, I tried to give it back when he caught me, but he wouldn’t take it.”

“And then she tried to kill me, twice, and now we’re having lunch,” Ace added cheerfully. Kitty kicked him under the table. “Ouch! What? You electrocuted me and then stabbed me.”

“Did me a whole lot of good,” she muttered.

"Besides, Duck, we're  _pirates_. The job description is stealing things and running," Ace added. "So, she's doing great so far."

Kitty rolled her eyes. “Anyway, he offered me a spot on the crew and I said yes. I  _ jokingly  _ said that he had to make me his first mate, and he took it seriously.”

Ducky finally sat, looking thoughtful. “Well...I guess it’s true we haven’t had a first mate, and we could use one,” he said finally. “And Ace could use someone to knock sense into him sometimes.”

“Hey!” Ace protested. “I’m completely sensible.”

Even Kitty snorted at that. “I met you less than an hour ago and I already know that’s bullshit,” she pointed out.

Ducky laughed aloud. “See dude? Even the new person knows you’re nuts.”

Ace groaned. “I guess I should’ve seen that coming. Anyway, if you’re done eating, we’re headed back to the ship. You coming, Kitty?”


	3. Banshee

The Spadille was a little ship, not much larger than the one Kitty had served on years ago. Unlike that one, however, the Spadille felt more welcoming, and cleaner. The crew seemed curious about her, and was surprised at Ace’s announcement of her placement, but seemed generally to accept his decision. That is, with the exception of a large, stern looking woman, and a thickset blond man with a blue mask pushed up on his head like a pair of glasses. They shot her suspicious looks before heading below deck.

“I’m not sure they like me,” Kitty muttered. Ace glanced at his crewmates’ retreating backs and frowned.

“They just need to adjust,” he said firmly. “Neither of those two are the type to keep quiet about something that genuinely grates against them. They didn’t yell, so we’re good. It’ll be fine. Come on, I’ll show you around the place.”

Despite her first impressions, Ace seemed to be a genuinely good dude. Ducky turned out to meet most of her initial expectations, but was also a good dude. The rest of the crew...Kitty wasn’t sure. One minute, she seemed to be fitting in just fine, and the next minute they were ribbing her like she’d deeply insulted them personally. It usually wasn’t too bad, but one of them seemed to really have it in for her - Banshee, the unofficial cook. She was already a large and imposing woman, wielding twin pistols far more easily than a chef’s knife, but she  _ really  _ didn’t like Kitty.

Every single meal was a stress-filled event. Banshee made sure everybody’s plate was piled high, save for Kitty’s. If that weren’t annoying enough, Banshee would casually but loudly talk about how the Spades needed a  _ real  _ vice captain, one who knew the crew and could handle its rowdiness. This wasn’t anything Kitty hadn’t been expecting, to be honest. The vice captain of the crew on which she’d been basically raised had been a really nasty motherfucker, ruling with an iron fist and club. The captain had been moderately more soft-hearted, but not by much. In comparison, Ace was a goddamn saint. Still, Banshee was partially right. A vice captain needed to command respect. Thus far, Kitty did not.

That didn’t make it any easier, however. Banshee and Deuce were - besides Ace - the two most long-standing members of the Spades, and were the harshest on her. Kitty grit her teeth and bore their metaphorical prodding, hoping to herself that they were just testing her mettle.

“Perhaps you should try finding out what her issue with you is,” advised Ossamando one day. The large, soft-spoken man was fishing off the stern of the ship when Kitty had joined him. Or at least, he was  _ trying  _ to fish. He fiddled with his fishing line as he spoke, attempting to undo a knot. Unfortunately, his fingers were much too large to be nimble enough to unknot it. “Surely you know what they say about a shipmate who offends their cook.”

“Yeah, I know, but as far as I know I haven’t  _ done  _ anything except exist,” Kitty sighed. She held out a hand in offerin, and Ossamando relinquished the fishing line. She lightly dug at the knot with a fingernail, gradually loosening it. “I didn’t even have this much trouble when I was conscripted onto a pirate ship as a kid.”

Ossamando blinked down at her, jaw slack before he seemed to snap out of it. “Ah. Well. That’s...mildly horrific. But as I was saying, perhaps you should attempt to make nice. Even if you haven’t actively done anything that would offend Banshee, it’s better to work to move past it.  One cannot live for long on the portions you’ve been receiving.”

“Valid advice for anybody but a vice captain,” another voice chimed in. Kitty and Ossamando turned to see Skull, the resident doctor. He gave them his signature toothy grin. “The vice captain’s job is not to make peace when there is discontent. The vice captain’s job is, among other things, to back up the captain’s decisions. In this instance, the captain’s decision was to instate our dear Kitty as vice captain.”

“You’re telling me I have to, what, tell her to suck it up? Won’t that make this worse?” Kitty pointed out. “I’m not dumb enough to actively antagonize the one who gives us food.”

“Banshee has antagonized  _ you _ and, in turn, Ace. She disrespects Ace’s order of your command. You would be perfectly reasonable in pushing back,” Skull said cheerfully. “In fact, I would highly suggest it. Nobody respects anybody in authority who rolls over and lets their inferiors walk all over them - pirate or marine. As vice captain, you don’t ask for respect. You  _ command  _ it.”

“That may be true, but what does Ace think about this?” Ossamando said hesitantly. “Have you brought it up with him?”

“He said ‘they just need time to get used to it’,” Kitty explained tiredly. “But it just seems to be getting worse.”

Skull nodded thoughtfully. “As someone who has known Banshee for a long time - far longer than I would care to admit - she can be...a little heinous. Far better to speak up and demand the respect you are due, than to continue allowing her to do as she wishes in the hopes she will magically tolerate you one day.”

“Do what you think is best, as vice captain,” Ossamando said carefully, “but be cautious. It’s possible things may only get worse.”

“Thanks guys. I’ll consider it.” Kitty finally handed back the unknotted fishing string to Ossamando, and the giant of a man nodded gratefully. Skull gave that wide, toothy grin once more.

—-

It didn’t take long for things to come to a head and for Kitty to lose her patience. Though to her credit, she made it an entire two weeks before she snapped.

“Here you go,  _ vice captain _ ,” Banshee said one afternoon, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she handed over a plate with only a meager amount of food. Kitty frowned at the disappointing plate.

“I need more food than this,” she said bluntly. Throughout the rest of the “eatin’ room”, as Ace had called it, the rest of the crew perked up, eyes and ears fixed on the two women. Kitty ignored them all, staring down the larger woman. “Give me a bigger portion.”

Banshee snorted. “Fuck off.”

Kitty kept her expression stony. “It’s not a request.”

“What the hell makes you think a scrawny little shit like you can order me - any of us - around?” Banshee spread her hands to the rest of the crew as she spoke. To Kitty’s internal dismay, she saw a couple heads nodding in agreement. “You’ve been here two weeks. The rest of us have been here for at least a year. Just because you’ve hopped on Ace’s dick doesn’t mean you’re right for the job,  _ princess _ .”

Kitty slammed her hands down on the rough table, rattling her plate and almost drowning out the scattered shocked gasps.

“Dude!” Ducky had jumped to his feet, his expression uncharacteristically furious. “That’s not cool! Take it back, Ban.”

A hand appeared on his chest; Ace, appearing as if from nowhere, holding Ducky back. He shook his head, lips pursed and his gaze calculating on the two women. Kitty, for her part, ignored the two men. She kept her stare locked with Banshee’s. To the cook’s credit, she did look somewhat ashamed of her words at Ace’s appearance. But that wasn’t enough. Kitty had to  _ act. _

“If my being vice captain is unsatisfactory to you, I’d expect you to have the guts to tell me to my face and not be a goddamn passive aggressive coward,” Kitty said coolly. “If you have a complaint, I’d be  _ happy  _ to entertain your concerns.”

Banshee’s face grew redder with every word, and it was only partially embarrassment. Her nostrils actually flared wide when Kitty gave her a faint smile.

“So  _ do  _ you have a complaint, or are you just being a shitty person because you don’t like that the new girl has authority over you?” Kitty said sweetly.

If Banshee’s eyes were bulged with fury any further, they’d pop right out of her head and into the mediocre lunch she’d made. “Of course I’ve got a fucking  _ complaint _ !” she spat. “I don’t think you have what it takes to be Ace’s vice captain! You’re a child who has no home and no family and no bounty, what the hell can you hope to offer to the Spades!?”

“Do you think you can do better?” Kitty shot back. “Prove it. Take me on, one on one, and show everyone you’re better suited for it.”

“Outside, princess,” Banshee growled. “I’ll fucking take you on.”

The crew immediately scrambled for the door. Banshee gave a mocking bow, gesturing for Kitty to go ahead of her. Kitty, for her part, kept her expression schooled and her back straight as she went back up to the deck. She could feel Ace’s eyes on her back, but didn’t turn to meet his stare.

Back on the deck, the crew had formed a loose circle around the edges, leaving a nice open space. Kitty and Banshee squared off, staring each other down. The former gripped her sword, allowing sparks of electricity to trail down her arms and gather at her fingertips. The latter held her dual pistols loosely at her sides, feet squared in a solid stance. Ace perched up on the railing of the upper level, watching them with a neutral expression.

“No dismemberment, no killing, no excessive pain-inflicting,” he rattled off. “Fight goes until someone surrenders or is incapacitated. And please don’t fuck up my ship too much,” he added. “Deuce?”

Deuce didn’t look too happy about it, but he stepped forward anyway and drew his pistol. Everyone else leaned forward intently as he raised it into the air. Kitty lowered her stance slightly, not taking her eyes from her opponent. Across from her, Banshee did the same. Even the Spadille herself seemed to hold her breath in anticipation.

_ BANG! _

Kitty and Banshee moved at the same time. Banshee fired off multiple rounds, most of them striking the deck. Kitty actually managed to deflect one of them with her sword as she charged forward, closing the distance between them rapidly. Electricity crackled in her fist - it might not be enough to take the large woman down, but she had to try. Kitty raised her sword, ready to draw some blood if need be-

Agony erupted across her right hand, and her sword clattered to the ground. Kitty snarled - it hurt like fuck, but all five fingers were still there. She could assess the damage later.

If Banshee had expected being shot in the hand to slow Kitty down, she was mistaken. Kitty kept up her momentum and landed a solid, lightning-laced punch directly in Banshee’s nose. The larger woman staggered, blinking stars from her eyes - but Kitty didn’t pause. She grabbed Banshee’s face between her hands, ignoring the flare of pain in her right one, and pumped out all the electricity she could muster.

Banshee sparked under her grip, eyes rolling back in her head. Kitty didn’t stop, didn’t lower her power until someone grabbed her arm. “Kitty!” Ducky said urgently. “Let go! You’re killing her!”

The lightning in her veins faltered, then froze completely as she stopped to actually look at Banshee. The skin under her bleeding hands was red and peeling, and her lips were tinged blue. Kitty jerked her hands back, aghast even as Skull rushed over and laid bony fingers to the pulse point of Banshee’s wrist.

“Shit, I- I-,” Kitty stammered. There were too many eyes on her, too many horrified stares. Ace’s expression was still carefully neutral, but something dark flickered in his eyes as he stared down at her from his perch on high. Bile rose in her throat. She whirled around and ran for the door to belowdecks, slamming it shut behind her.

—-

It was a small ship, so Kitty wasn’t surprised when it didn’t take long for Ducky to find her hiding in one of the deepest, smallest storage areas down near the Spadille’s keel. She was curled up in a little ball, head buried in her arms, ignoring the cold and the damp despite the clear goosebumps on her arms and shoulders. Blood still dripped from her hand, staining her sleeve and skirt.

Ducky sat next to her, folding himself carefully into the meager space. “Do you wanna talk about it?” he offered.

“What’s there to talk about? I almost killed her. I would’ve if you hadn’t stopped me.” Kitty’s voice was muffled in her arms. “Banshee was right. I don’t deserve to be here at all.”

“Hey now, that’s not true,” Ducky said confidently. “Do you trust Ace?”

Kitty hesitated before nodding. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, he chose you, right? He thinks you’re a good match for this, as a crew member  _ and  _ as vice captain. I trust him and his decisions. If you do too, then just know what you did wrong and try and do better next time,” Ducky said confidently. He smiled over at her, and bumped his shoulder against hers. “Banshee’s gonna be fine. She’s a little loopy but is as cranky as ever.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. And honestly, she was due to have her ass beat a little. Humility is a good thing.”

Kitty wiped her eyes. “Everyone else looked at me like I was a monster, though. Even Ace didn’t look happy.”

Ducky grimaced. “Yeah, it looked a little grim before Skull checked Ban out. Ace was probably just worried. I’d talk to him about it, clear the air.”

“But...what if he changes his mind about me?” Kitty said, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. “I like it here. It’s so much better than my last crew was, and you all are so much better people. I don’t want to have to leave. I wanted to prove I could do this, be a vice captain and command respect, but the minute I try and  _ do _ something about it I go too far, and now I’m gonna be kicked out because I almost killed someone.” Her voice cracked, and she hastily wiped a tear from her cheek.

Ducky shook his head before she even finished speaking. “You know how hard-headed Ace is. He wouldn’t back down from a decision if it killed him. He’s not gonna boot you out because you have a hard time fitting in at first.”

She let out a long breath. “You’re right. Thanks, Ducky.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for,” he said easily. “But...can I tell you something?”

“Yeah?”

“My name’s not Ducky, it’s Denki. When Ace and I met he misheard me and thought I said Ducky, and it stuck,” he confided. Despite herself, Kitty couldn’t stop a snicker from slipping out. Denki laughed too, and soon they were both giggling like a couple of little kids with a secret.

“You’re not too bad,” Kitty said finally. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Now come on, let’s get your hand looked at, okay? You’re still bleeding, like, a lot.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay. Can you help me up? I’ve been sitting here so long my ass is numb.”

—-

Skull had just finished bandaging Kitty’s hand - the bullet had just grazed her knuckles and thankfully done no real damage - when the door opened. Ace stood in the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. “Give us a minute,” he said, dark eyes not leaving Kitty. Her heart sank to the vicinity of her stomach, despite Denki’s supportive thumbs-up from behind Ace’s back as he and Skull filed out the door. Ace shut the door behind him and came to sit on the bench next to her.

Kitty kept her gaze fixed firmly on the bandaging on her hand. Ace didn’t speak, just stared thoughtfully at Skull’s bookcase of medical texts. Kitty didn’t speak either, because it felt like a hand was slowly strangling her lungs. The silence stretched on, deafeningly quiet, straining her nerves-

Ace sneezed, making Kitty jump and swear. Ace, in turn, jumped and swore as she accidentally shocked him. “Sorry!” she gasped. Ace huffed a bit and patted down his staticky hair.

“Kitty, we need to talk,” he started. Kitty’s heart sank. “I know you’re worried you were too hard on Banshee-”

“I wasn’t  _ hard _ on her, Ace, I nearly killed her,” Kitty interrupted. “I lost my temper and I would’ve killed her if Denki hadn’t stopped me. And I know what you’re gonna say,” she continued, steamrolling right over Ace’s beginning of a sentence, “and I agree, I don’t need to be here if I can’t keep control. As soon as we make landfall, I’ll grab my bag and leave you all alone. It’s not like the crew wanted me as vice captain, anyway.”

Ace stared at her for a second before chuckling. “Wow, how can you be so hot but  _ so  _ unobservant?” he said thoughtfully.

“Excuse me?”

“Just goes to show you don’t really know me yet. That’s fine, I can take you out on a date sometime and fix that-”

“ _ Excuse me?” _

“-but the point is,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “You’re not being booted from the crew. Nobody here hates you or whatever it is your overthinking brain has told you. You’re right about one thing: you lost your temper and went too far. That’s  _ okay.  _ There was no lasting harm done, Banshee has acknowledged that she was being a giant bag of dicks, and you’ve solidified your claim as vice captain to the rest of our crew. So yeah, you could’ve done better, but in the end it worked out for the best.” Ace leaned back against the wall, arms up behind his head. “And trust me, I’m saying all this not as your captain or even friend, but as someone who has lost his temper a  _ lot _ : it happens, you learn from it.”

“Okay, but...are you sure?” Kitty asked after a long moment.

“Sure I’m sure. I talked to Ban myself earlier while you were hiding from the judgement of your crew belowdecks,” Ace said brightly. Her cheeks flushed.

“How did you know I was- I wasn’t hiding. Did you talk to Ducky?” she said suspiciously.

“Nope. It’s not a big ship, and it wasn’t hard to guess from your expression that you were ashamed and didn’t want anybody to see you. I’ve got a brain, believe it or not. I’m not  _ just _ looks, you know.” Ace turned and flexed an arm, winking at her. Kitty scoffed, but couldn’t stop a smile from creeping in. He grinned back.

They were comfortably quiet for a moment before Kitty spoke up. “What Banshee said about you and me...do they all think that?” she said haltingly.

“Think what?”

“That we slept together. Banshee thought you made me your vice captain because I fucked you, even though obviously I haven’t. Do they all think that?”

Ace let out a long sigh, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “Well, first off it’s none of their business what you and I do or don’t do,” he started. “Second off, these guys know that I might not always be the brightest, but I’m not stupid enough to let sex interfere with my decisions as captain. Also on that point, you’re doing just fine as vice captain, proving even more that I made the right decision. And third, just between you and me, even if we  _ did  _ have sex, would that really be so awful?”

Kitty felt her face reddening. “That’s not- that’s not my point!”

Ace threw back his head and laughed. “I think we could do a lot worse than each other, but don’t worry. Nobody’s gonna give you any real grief. And if Banshee steps out of line again, just knock her back a bit.” He stretched, then leapt to his feet. “So, it’s all settled. Banshee won’t give you shit unnecessarily, you’ve successfully exercised your authority as vice captain, and dinner is soon.”

“Why is dinner on that list? Is it because Banshee’s back on her feet?” Kitty asked curiously.

“No, it’s because I’m fucking hungry. Aren’t you? It’s been two hours since lunch. I’m dying here.” Ace have a dramatic swoon, slumping against her. Kitty snorted and dumped him off her lap, ignoring his mock pleas for help getting back onto his feet.


	4. Fresh Start

Kitty expected things to be tense once she stepped back out on deck, but everyone greeted her like normal - maybe even a little more deferentially. Across the deck, Denki spotted her and leapt to his feet. “Kitty!” he called.

They met halfway and Denki pulled her into a hug. Kitty froze at the contact.

“How’d it go? Did you two talk?” he asked, finally pulling away.

“Yeah,” Kitty said. “He’s not mad. He thinks I _did_ go too far, but no harm was done, so he said to just remember it in the future and do better.”

“See, what did I tell you? I told you it’d be fine,” Denki said brightly. “How’s your hand?”

She flexed her hand, grimacing at the pain. “It stings. Still not the worst injury I’ve ever had, though, so I’ll live.”

“Good! Are you hungry? Banshee finally made dinner and I’m starving,” Denki said.

As of magically summoned by the mention of food, Ace popped up at their side. “Did I hear the mention of dinner?” he said eagerly. Kitty rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, apparently it’s time to eat. Come on, boys.”

Inside the mess hall, most of the crew was already sat and eating. Kitty spotted Skull and Ossamando off to the side, and both men gave her a nod and smile when they caught her eye. Through the doorway to the kitchen, Banshee could be seen puttering about, turning off the oven and cleaning up from the cooking. She turned around, and their eyes met.

Banshee’s face was bandaged and her eyes bloodshot, but she seemed to otherwise not be too worse for the wear. The larger woman stared down Kitty for a moment, before giving a subtle nod.

Relief flooded through Kitty, but she kept her expression neutral as she nodded back. Maybe this whole vice captain deal wasn’t so bad after all.

—-

As the weeks passed, things settled down into a more manageable rhythm. Things were still unendingly interesting, of course - they were pirates after all, and Ace could be wild and hard-headed at the best of times - but even the hardest days as a Spade pirate were better than the easiest days on her own...or worse, on the pirate crew Leonardo had been in charge of. In fact, each day Leonardo and his mafia fell further and further from Kitty’s mind, and before she knew it it’d been entire days between thinking about those years.

At least, until the day Ace announced they were going to sail for the Grand Line. “It’s time we head for the greatest sea in the world!” he shouted from where he stood, perched precariously on the railing of the upper deck. “We’re prepared! We’ve gathered the greatest crew on the East Blue!” Here, his eyes flicked to Kitty, and he gave her a quick smile. “We’re ready. We sail tomorrow!”

Beside her, the rest of the Spades burst into raucous cheering. Denki threw an arm around her shoulder, chattering happily in her ear, but Kitty could only give her best fake smile.

—-

She didn’t have a chance to voice her doubts to Ace for the rest of the evening. The Spadille was busy as hell with preparation for the trip, and for a change Ace was busy with captain duties. Kitty was kept busy as well; being a vice captain meant actual responsibility, after all. It was hours before everything was sorted. For such a small ship, the Spadille required a surprising amount of freshwater, food, repair tar, rope, nails, planks, spare sails, etc. They were stocked for the most part, but eventually Kitty pulled together a short list of supplies that had to be picked up on the way.

Now, up in the crow’s nest under the stars, she read over the scrawled list again. Maybe stocking up would take ages, she thought to herself. Ace could be a bit of an idiot when it came to haggling, and usually had to be bailed out by Deuce or Kitty, so maybe they’d be delayed.

“Hey, can I join you?”

Kitty jumped at the voice, and looked up to see Ace peeking over the side of the nest. He grinned down at her, and at her nod, jumped in.

“Speak of the devil,” Kitty teased halfheartedly. He just laughed.

“What, am I the devil because I’m hot? Or because of the fire?” Ace teased back.

“The fire, of course.”

“How’re we looking on supplies?”

Kitty handed over the list. “We’re okay on most stuff, but we need more water and food, along with some miscellaneous stuff. I’ve got it all written down for you.”

He scanned the list, nodding thoughtfully. “Okay,” he said after a long moment. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find. Logue Town is just before the Grand Line entrance, it’s well equipped for passing ships. We can stop there on our way.”

“Great,” Kitty sighed. Ace side-eyed her, then turned his body to face her fully.

“Alright, what’s the deal?” he said bluntly. “You’ve been in a weird mood all day. What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing’s wrong,” she said defensively. Ace raised a dark eyebrow. “Nothing! Just...tired, I guess.”

“I’ve seen you when you’re tired, and this ain’t it,” he shot back. “When you’re tired you’re super touchy. Anything will either make you cry or piss you off, and the only difference is if you’ve eaten recently. _This_ is something else.”

“I- okay first off, I can be a little sensitive, but I’m not _that_ bad,” Kitty retorted. “Second off, why are you paying such close attention?”

Ace shook his head. “Come on, we’re friends. I may’ve just met you a few months ago, but we know each other real well. I know your tells. Like, when you’re frustrated, you don’t talk as much so you don’t take it out on others. When you’re upset, you isolate yourself rather than confide in a friend. When you’re emotionally touched, you cry. Actually you cry a lot-”

“I don’t cry _that_ much.”

“Yeah you do. But as your friend and as your captain, you need to be honest with me. I can’t make sure everything’s running fine if my vice captain is hiding something from me,” Ace finished. He tilted his head, trying to catch her dropped gaze. “You can lean on me, you know. If something’s wrong, I wanna make it right.”

Kitty let out a long sigh. “Nothing’s _wrong_ , exactly,” she started. “I’m just...not sure heading to the Grand Line is the best idea.”

“Why not?”

“I...it’s not…I don’t...” She fumbled for words, but Ace continued to patiently wait for her to sort out her feelings. “It’s nothing to do with you or the crew or supplies or anything,” she finally said. “It’s me. I don’t think I, personally, am ready to go to the Grand Line.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay. Can you tell me why?”

Kitty dropped her stare from Ace’s open, unassuming expression to the stars reflected on the dark water far below. “How much do you actually know about my history with Leonardo?”

“The mafia guy? Just that you were on a pirate crew he had control over, and that you got out a few years before we met,” Ace answered. “Has this got to do with him?”

“Yeah. The reason I was on that crew in the first place was so he wouldn’t kill my parents,” Kitty said quietly. “Mom and dad needed money to hold onto the house, so they sold a fake Devil Fruit to Leonardo. Of course he realized it was a fake, so he pressed charges. And since he had tons of money, he hired people to make sure the charges were harsh. It means my parents have been in jail since I was 9.”

“Damn.”

“9 year old me was super scared but also super ballsy, so I went up to Leonardo and told him I’d work for their freedom. He laughed and told me to bring him five real Devil Fruits and he’d let them go. I found five, but brought him four.”

“And I assume the fifth one is…?” Ace asked, waving a hand at her. Kitty smiled ruefully.

“Yep. Didn’t realize what it was until two hours later when I accidentally fried an electric heater. I kept it secret for a bit, but I knew it wouldn’t last. So I ran.”

Ace nodded, processing all this. “And Leonardo hasn’t hurt your parents in the meantime? Why’s he only put out a bounty on you? A bounty that, in my opinion, is insultingly low,” he added. “If I were trying to catch you, I’d offer at least ten times that. Probably fifteen.”

“Flattery, captain, will get you nowhere,” Kitty said firmly. “He doesn’t know I ate it, I think. And despite everything, I was the best at hunting down Devil Fruits. Before me, nobody else under him had found even one. So he either wants the Fruit I accidentally ate, or wants me to keep hunting for him. Probably both.”

“I see. That does fill in some gaps I’d been wondering about,” Ace admitted. “You think he’d hurt your parents to get you you?”

Kitty grimaced. “I hope not. He _did_ go through legal order to arrest, try, and jail them. But he’s got a _lot_ of money and power, so who knows. He’s a real bastard.”

“And why is your bounty a local one, instead of through the government?”

“He wants me to himself. It defeats the purpose if some other bounty hunter takes me in to the government or kills me,” she answered.

“So, to bring it all back...how does that tie in to not wanting to sail the Grand Line?” Ace asked. Kitty took in a deep breath.

“The Grand Line is dangerous, everyone knows that,” she said. “Anything could happen. There’s a very real possibility we could die there. I don’t want to leave my parents behind in a jail cell while I sail the most dangerous sea in the world.”

“Okay. We’ll do it.”

“I know that makes me selfish,” Kitty continued, “but- wait a minute. What?”

“I said we’ll do it,” Ace repeated. He smiled at her agape expression. “What? You need help busting your parents out and making sure good ol’ Leo leaves them alone forever, right? Then you’re free to do whatever you want without fear - including, if you want, going to the Grand Line with us to have the adventure of a lifetime. What do you think?”

She could feel her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “I wasn’t going to ask you to.”

“I know, but that’s what nakama do. You don’t _have_ to ask us for help, because we will no matter what.”

“Do you mean it?”

“‘Course I mean it. I don’t lie, especially to you. I have your back for whatever you need. And so does this crew. You need some backup facing an old demon from your past? You got it. Leo’s about to have his ass cooked.” Ace finger-gunned, complete with little flames flickering dramatically at the end of his fingers. “You’re one of us now, Kit. Let us help you out.”

“Just like that? But nobody else knows. I don’t think Deuce or Banshee or the others would leap up to help me just like that,” Kitty said doubtfully.

Ace shook his head. “You don’t think so? You’ve been proving you belong here. You’ve established yourself as first mate - Banshee’s really backed off of you since your fight. You’ve made good friends already - I know you and Ducky are close, and Ossamando and Skull both think a great deal of you. You’re a bona fide Spade. We’ll fight for you.”

Despite herself, Kitty felt tears of emotion prick at her eyes. She rubbed them away and focused again on the stars. “It would delay our Grand Line voyage by a couple weeks, easy. Would you be okay with that?”

“Done,” Ace said easily. “I’ve already waited a year since leaving home, what’s a couple more weeks? I’ll wait however long you need till you’re ready.”

“I...don’t know what to say,” Kitty said finally.

“You could try ‘thank you’,” he suggested with a smile.

“Thank you.”

“And you could give me a kiss, right here,” Ace continued, grin widening to shit-eating level. He leaned close and tapped his cheek, right next to one of his cute little dimples. Kitty snorted and shoved his shoulder.

“Not a chance!” she laughed.

He pouted, but his eyes still sparkled with mischief. “Aww. You’re cruel.”

The two of them laughed together before settling into a comfortable silence. A warm breeze wafted over them, ruffling their hair. After a while, Kitty turned and looked over at Ace.

“So, why do you want to go to the Grand Line anyway? Aside from treasure and adventure and all that, I mean,” she asked.

“What, is the One Piece not incentive enough?” he teased. Kitty shot him a look. “Aw come on, don’t tell me you’re a skeptic.”

“You actually believe in some mystical treasure?” she scoffed. “There’s treasure, sure, but something that makes you a _pirate king_? Come on, Ace. Even you’re not that susceptible.”

“Well, I guess I’m susceptible,” Ace replied. “But that’s not why I’m going to the Grand Line. I’m looking for a man named Red-Haired Shanks.”

Kitty clicked her tongue. “That’s a cool epithet. Why’re you looking for him? Hunting him down for vengeance?”

His tone turned serious. “He saved my little brother’s life. I need to thank him for it.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you had a brother.”

Ace chuckled. “Yeah, Luffy’s a handful. He managed to piss off some mountain bandits who tried to drown him, but Shanks showed up and saved his ass. Lost his arm over it, apparently. I found out a year and a half ago that Shanks was in the Grand Line somewhere, so that gave me a direction to sail.”

Kitty nodded thoughtfully. “And that’s what made you choose piracy?”

“Oh no, I’ve wanted to be a pirate since I first heard about them. My granddad hated pirate stories, but I ate that shit up like candy. God, I’m probably responsible for at least 80% of the old man’s gray hairs. Can you believe he wanted me to be a marine?” Ace said in a conspiratorial voice.

Kitty gasped dramatically. “Oh my god. A marine? You?”

“I _know_. I’m not built to take orders, in case you couldn’t tell. Can you really picture me in a marine uniform?” Ace gestured to himself, waiting for her to join him in his incredulity. Kitty ran a critical eye over his open-shirt look, opening her mouth to make a snarky comment...but couldn’t.

She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling a little warm. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be a good look for you _at all,_ ” she said, jerking her stare away. Ace raised an eyebrow, but dropped the subject.

“So,” he said slowly, “I wanna know more about these people I’m busting out of jail. What are Mr. and Mrs. Mamakoto like? Mister and Missus? Mister and mister? Missus and Missus? I don’t wanna assume.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “My mom and dad are good people who made a dumb mistake,” she explained. “Our pomegranate winery was going under because piracy drove up shipping costs. They came up with the idea for some quick cash-”

“The fake Devil Fruit,” Ace interjected.

“Yeah. Daddy somehow didn’t think about the fact mafia boss Leonardo would realize he’d been conned, get mad, and wreak havoc on the winery and throw my parents in jail for fraud,” Kitty sighed. “But they _are_ good people, fraud aside. I had a great childhood up to that point. Pomegranates remind me of being a little kid, climbing the trees. Too bad they’re so expensive.”

Ace nodded thoughtfully. “Sound like decent people.”

“They are. A little dim sometimes, and easily excitable, but good. You remind me of them,” Kitty said lightly.

Ace pouted. “That hurts, Kit, it really does.”

“Aw, poor baby. Anyway, my parents are boring, aside from fraud and mafia and all that,” she continued. “To be honest, I’d be more interested in hearing about _your_ parents.”

Ace leaned back, the smile slipping from his face. “Nothing exciting.”

“What? Come on, a guy like you, roaming the seas with nobody to tell you what to do? You’ve got to have interesting parents that led to all this,” Kitty said. She leaned in closer, but Ace wouldn’t meet her eyes. His entire body language was shut off. “Actually...never mind. If it’s a sore subject-”

“It is.” Ace took a deep breath and finally met her stare. “They were...interesting people. But I don’t really want to talk about them.”

“Oh.”

“But...I will say that you remind me of my mom. You’ve got the same color hair,” he said, gesturing to hair.

Kitty automatically reached up to grab a lock. “Your mom’s hair was pink too?”

Ace chuckled. “Pink hair is more common than you think. Plus...she was great. And so are you.”

Kitty smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Ace.”


	5. Leonardo

Ace had been right - for the most part, the crew raised no objection to a detour. That is except for Deuce, who gave her a real stink-eye when Ace explained everything, but honestly Kitty was used to it by now. 

Kitty, Ace, Deuce, Skull, Banshee, and Saber spent an hour going over everything. Kitty laid out the general floor plan for Leonardo’s base and the ports nearby, while the others discussed strategy. Eventually, some semblance of a plan was pulled together, and Banshee headed out to give the official order for the ship to be turned back to the island Leonardo called home. Kitty, lost in thought, wandered out after her and watched absently as the sails dropped to catch the morning wind.

“You alright?”

Kitty jumped slightly; she hadn’t heard Ace come up behind her. “Yeah,” she said.

“You sure? You were pretty quiet in there. This is your operation, after all. Is everything okay?” he pressed.

“Yeah, I just...I’ve been dreaming about going to bust out my parents since I was a kid. Now that it’s actually happening, I should be happy, right? But I don’t. I don’t know  _ how  _ I feel.” Kitty looked down at her hands. “What if they don’t want to see me?”

“What? Why wouldn’t they? You’re incredible,” Ace retorted. He jerked his head to the upper deck, and Kitty followed him up the stairs, and a moment later they were safely away from any listening ears. “What parent  _ wouldn’t  _ want to see their kid, especially someone as great as you?”

“Ace, it’s my fault they’re still there,” she said. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, and anxious sparks flickered at her fingertips. “If I hadn’t eaten this Devil Fruit, they’d have been released four years ago. What if they blame me for it-”

Ace grabbed her hand, ignoring the electricity still rolling off her in waves. “Kitty, it’s going to be fine,” he said firmly. “We’re gonna go in, beat Leonardo’s ass, bust your parents out, and they’re gonna hug you and tell you they love you and all that good shit.”

Kitty blinked away the threat of tears, unable to look away from Ace’s dark, sincere eyes locked in with hers. His thumb stroked soothingly across the back of her hand, rubbing away the last of her static. “You really think so?” she said softly.

“‘Course. Besides, the more I’ve heard about Leonardo, the more I wanna beat the hell out of him. Getting your parents out is a great bonus.” Ace winked, earning a halfhearted eye roll. “Come on, have I ever lied to you?”

“No,” Kitty admitted. Ace grinned and gave her had one last squeeze before letting go. “But I still don’t think this will be as easy as you’re thinking.”

“I didn’t choose this life because it’s easy,” he replied. “Come on, we should be there soon.”

—-

“It’s a lot busier than I thought it’d be,” Saber remarked. Everyone leaned over the rails, taking in the first impressions of Fairwell. “It’s so...quaint looking. You sure this place is owned and run by big bad mafia guys?”

“Positive,” Kitty said. “It might look cutesy but trust me, every one of these people are loyal to Leonardo. Or at least, they don’t wanna oppose him and lose protection.”

Ace snorted. “Protection? What’s this guy think he is, a Warlord?”

“That’s exactly what he thinks he is. He’s not a pirate himself, but he has control over a good handful of crews, and enough money to make the marines look the other way if they start to snoop,” Kitty answered.

Ossamondo shook his head. “Leonardo sounds like someone who needs his priorities sorted out,” he said quietly. Beside him, Skull nodded vigorously.

“What do you say, Vice Captain? Are you ready to kick some ass?” he said brightly. She gave him a half smile.

“Well  _ I’m  _ ready to kick ass!” Ace exclaimed. “We’ll bust out Kitty’s parents and make a little chaos while we’re at it, and then we’ll head to the Grand Line!”

A hand tapped her shoulder, and she turned to find Deuce right behind her. “I need to talk to you before we dock,” he grunted.

“Oh. Okay, sure.”

She followed him up the stairs to the upper deck, back towards the stern. Deuce seemed preoccupied, but then again, he usually looked like that. When he finally turned to face her, his lips were pressed into a thin line. “Look, I don’t like you,” he said bluntly. “Ace made a mistake making you our vice captain, and he’s making a mistake now on this  _ mission _ of yours. It’s not gonna bring us anything but trouble.”

Kitty let out a slow breath. “Well, thanks for being honest at least. Are you gonna ask to fight me like Banshee did?”

Deuce snorted. “Of course not. I don’t have a Devil Fruit, but I could probably give you a run for your money before you won. I don’t need to have some brawl just to prove our places here.”

“So you just brought me up here to tell me you don’t like me?”

“I brought you up here to tell you I’m watching you. You’re leading the way on this thing, and if this thing goes sideways - if Ace gets hurt - I’ll know where to place the blame.”

Kitty crossed her arms. “I guess that’s fair. I don’t like you either, but I want you to know I’d never purposefully hurt Ace. I want to protect him just like you.”

“I’m not here to discuss it. I’m just warning you: watch yourself.” With one last glower, Deuce turned and headed back down to the deck where Ace was talking loudly with Ossamondo. Ace turned and spotted Kitty, and waved cheerfully. She gave a halfhearted wave back. 

Half an hour later, Ace, Kitty, Deuce, Ossamondo, and Ducky were standing in the main square. Ace sidled up to Kitty and bumped his elbow against hers, jarring her from her thoughts. “So, where do we go from here?” he asked.

“Oh. Uh, well, it’s been about five years since I’ve been here, but if I remember right, Leonardo’s main base is up the mountain a ways, maybe half a mile.” Kitty clenched her hands, attempting to stifle the anxious sparks that kept crackling across her fingertips. “There will be lookouts. We need to be careful.”

“Is that where your parents are?” Ducky asked.

She sighed. “I don’t know. It’s been four years since I left, they could be anywhere here now.”

Deuce scoffed. “So you have no idea what you’re doing?”

“I’m doing my best!”

“Your best isn’t enough.”

“Alright, let’s stay calm,” Ossamondo chimed in. “I’m sure we’ll find what we need.”

“And if not, we can always beat the hell out of Leonardo and get him to do everything for us,” Ace said cheerfully. He turned and caught the arm of a passing woman. “‘Scuse me, you know Leonardo, right? Any chance you know where he is?”

The woman blinked owlishly. “Leonardo?Why would you-” She cut off when her eyes landed on Kitty, and visibly flinched. “I don’t know anything, just leave me alone.”

“Great, now she’ll tell the lookouts I’m here and Leo will know,” Kitty hissed as the woman all but ran away. “He could kill them!”

“No, he won’t,” Ace replied. “You said you’re a talented Devil Fruit hunter, right? So good that Leo still wants you to work for him after all this time?”

“One of the best, but that’s not the point!”

“Yes it is. You pretend that you’ve given up and you’re coming back, and you’ll hunt for him again. You ask to see your parents again one last time. And  _ then  _ we beat Leo’s ass and go bust your parents out. Easy as pie,” Ace explained.

Kitty just stared at him for a moment. It was as good a plan as any, she supposed, but it still didn’t make her feel better. She took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Alright, let’s do it,” she said.

Ducky patted her shoulder comfortingly. “And hey, if things go sideways, you’ve got all of us on your side. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you.”

“Damn straight. Now come on, you’ve got a bounty here. There’s got to be a place where you could turn yourself in, right?” Ace asked.

“Yeah. I actually have slightly different idea for that,” Kitty said. She turned to Deuce, whose expression soured even further when she gave him a wink. “I need Deuce’s help, though.”

“Why the fuck should I-”

“Done,” Ace said easily. “What’re you thinking?”

—-

The bail office was empty when Deuce dragged Kitty inside by the arm, the muzzle of his gun pressed against her side. The desk clerk looked up from his newspaper, and his eyes lit up with interest when he spotted her. “Well well well,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I was wondering when you’d be dragged into here.”

“Shut up,” Kitty snapped.

Deuce jerked his chin towards Kitty’s poster on the wall. She noticed it had actually gone up since she’d last seen it - Leonardo must not be doing too well on the Devil Fruit business. “I’m here to collect her bounty,” he said bluntly.

“Yes, of course, there’s just a few forms to sign first.”

Deuce took the clipboard handed to him, keeping his pistol trained on Kitty while the clerk pulled out a pair of handcuffs. When they clicked into place, she staggered.

“Sea prism stone?” she quipped. This hadn’t been part of the plan.

“Leonardo knows all about the Fruit you ate instead of turning in,” the clerk replied cheerfully. “I’m sure he’s looking forward to speaking with you about it.”

“Alright, I’m done. Give me my money,” Deuce interrupted. The clerk took back the clipboard and looked over the sheet of paper, humming to himself. After a moment, he nodded.

“Very well. Fifteen thousand berries, all right here.”

Deuce took the stack of bills, counted them briefly, and walked out the door without so much as a glance back towards her. Kitty scowled at his retreating back. He was a real dick, and had taken to his role a little too easily here. But right now, she had bigger problems.

Kitty was loaded into the back of a horse-drawn cart, with the bail clerk driving. He snapped the reins, and the cart began its long journey up the path towards the mountain. Halfway there, the mafia’s base revealed itself - a luxurious beach house looking place, with balconies and palm trees and a huge pool. It was gorgeous and comfortable, if you weren’t indentured to the mafia.

The sea prism stone cuffs were left on while Kitty was unloaded and marched inside, the tip of the bail clerk’s dagger poking unsubtly at her lower back. “Tell Leonardo there’s someone special here to see him,” the clerk said to one of the mountains of muscle that was playing guard at the door. The man grunted, spoke quietly into a wristband den-den-mushi, listened to the reply, then opened the door for them.

“Go straight down the main hall, through the first double doors on the left,” the man said. “Leonardo is expecting you.”

With another prod from his knife, the bail clerk led Kitty through the doors and down the hall. She didn’t need the directions, she knew this place by heart. The air seemed to get colder the further down the hall they went, until finally they stood in front of those double doors Kitty had been through so many times before. The bail clerk pushed them open, and ushered her inside.

The lavish dining room had been set for lunch, even though only one person sat at the table. The well-dressed man looked up from his meal as they entered, and his eyes fell thoughtfully on Kitty as he chewed his bite. He savored it, swallowing and dabbing his mouth with a napkin before he spoke. “It looks as if my little Kitten has finally returned home,” he said slowly. “Welcome back to the fold.”

“Don’t call me that,” Kitty snapped. “I’m not some kind of  _ pet _ .”

“But you do have claws, don’t you?” Leonardo stood and walked over, examining her carefully. Kitty drew herself up to her full height, staring down at him and relishing the entire inch she had over him. He looked unfazed at the posturing. “I’ve heard you’ve gone and  _ misbehaved, _ even before you ran away from home.”

“Fairwell is not my home.”

“I meant the  _ Lion Castella _ , and our dear captain Don Yokutoi. The business hasn’t been the same since you ate the Shock Shock Fruit and went off on your own adventure.” Leonardo nodded to one of his thugs standing off to the side, who immediately opened an inconspicuous door behind them. Several people were ushered into the room; Kitty felt her heart stutter to a halt when she recognized not only Ace, Ossamondo, and Deuce - looking angrier than ever -  but her parents as well, all with their hands tied behind their backs, with guns held to the backs of their heads. All five of them were shoved down onto their knees.

“Leonardo you motherfucker-”

“Ah ah, are you really going to use that kind of language in front of your own parents after fifteen years apart?” Leonardo said blithely, sitting back down and taking another bite of his food. “You can take the girl off the pirate ship, but you can’t take the pirate out of the girl, it seems.”

“Kitty, we’re okay,” her mom said hastily. Her face was more lined than she remembered, and both of them had gray at their temples as well, but they seemed to be alright otherwise. “We’re fine, we haven’t been hurt-”

“Yet,” her father added.

“I figured you were going to pull some kind of stunt like this,” Leonardo interrupted. “I’ve had eyes on you for a year now, so I knew when you joined a new pirate crew. You always said you hated being on Yokutoi’s crew, yet here you are, a pirate still. When your crew turned towards my island, I knew that smart little head of yours had come up with some kind of plan, so I had your parents moved here for safekeeping, just in case you weren’t making good on your bargain of bringing me five Devil Fruits. And it seems my suspicions were right - you somehow convinced these criminals to help you break into here and, what, break your parents out of prison? Do you really think nothing would happen to them afterwards once you left? Or were you going to kill me afterwards?”

Kitty could barely take her eyes from her parents. Almost fifteen years since she saw them last, and here they were, just ten feet from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ace give her a supportive nod. He had to have a plan - it would be easy as hell for him to burn through the ropes around his wrists, but he likely left them be for the sake of the others not getting hurt. She took a second glance at her captain, then at Ossamondo and Deuce. Wait, where was Ducky?

Meanwhile, Leonardo was still talking. “I’ve done a lot of thinking here, and I’ve come to the conclusion I’m going to be generous and offer you the same deal I accepted from you so many years ago. Five Devil Fruits, and then I let your parents go. And as an added bonus, I’ll count the four you already brought me, so I only need one more.”

“What’s to stop me from running off again?” Kitty said finally. “If you hurt my parents, or my friends, the deal’s off. I’ll make sure you never get a Devil Fruit again.”

“I had a feeling you’d feel that way.” Leonardo took a sip of water from his glass, then held out his hand. One of his bodyguards - a strangely familiar looking fellow - seemed to materialize at his side, placing their pistol into his hand. He set it onto the table with a metallic  _ clack _ , right next to the fruit bowl. “This new deal has one main difference. You can give me your Devil Fruit now, and your parents will be free to go immediately.  _ Or _ you keep your Fruit, go hunt for another one, and I shoot your friends here.”

“Wh- I don’t -  _ give _ you my Fruit?” Kitty choked out. “There’s no way to just  _ give _ a Fruit after you’ve eaten it. Not without...oh.”

“Oh,” Leonardo mimicked. “Now come dear, what’s your decision?”

Panic blossomed in her chest. This was no kind of real decision, not even considering the fact that bullets wouldn’t work against Ace. Leonardo  _ couldn’t _ know that Ace was a logia, otherwise he’d have sea prism stone cuffs on as well instead of rope. This wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go. Both of her parents were trying to catch her eye, talking and shaking their heads wildly, and Kitty turned back to Leonardo - to swear loudly at him or to beg for mercy, she wasn’t sure - just in time to see Leonardo’s head jerk forward as his bodyguard hit him in the back of the had with the butt of their gun. The guard pulled off their glasses and tipped their hat back, revealing a familiar face. “Ace, now!” Ducky shouted.

Flames flickered to life along Ace’s shoulders and arms, and with a flash the ropes around his wrists burned away. He leapt up, ready to provide a wall of fire between Leonardo and his men, and Osamondo, Deuce, her parents-

A shot rang out, wildly missing any of them. Leonardo had recovered just enough to grab the gun from the table and fire off a shot. In the confusion, the other guard pointed a gun at Ducky’s head, forcing him to back off. Kitty took a heartbeat to make sure Ossamondo, Deuce, or her parents hadn’t been hit, and when they all seemed fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was short-lived. The roaring flames flickered and died, and they all looked around in confusion at Ace. He held a hand to the left side of his chest, and when he pulled it away, his palm was ruby red with blood. A matching blot of blood stained his open shirt, spreading rapidly.

“Ace!” Kitty blurted out. How the hell-

“Sea prism stone bullets,” Leonardo panted. He gingerly touched the back of his head where Ducky had struck him, making a face at the smear of blood he found there. “Expensive, but worth it in our line of work.”

Ace’s face was white under his freckles, but he somehow stayed on his feet even as blood dripped onto the cold, hard floor, shockingly red against the white. Leonardo cocked the gun and aimed it directly at Ace’s face.

“I guess you made my decision for me,” Leonardo continued. “What a pain. But that fire, that ought to be useful as hell. Thanks for showing it off.” With one more smile, Leonardo pulled the trigger.

_ Bang! _


	6. Deuce

Leonardo stood there, pistol in hand, aimed directly at Ace’s forehead. As his finger tightened on the trigger, that stupid smug smile still on his face, several things happened very quickly. First, Ossamondo twisted to place himself between Leonardo and Kitty’s parents, using the huge bulk of his body as a shield. Second, Deuce leapt to his feet, ready to charge - at Leonardo or Ace, nobody was quite sure. Third, Ducky stomped on the foot of the henchman who still held a gun to his head, making him drop his guard and his gun.

Kitty didn’t notice any of these things at first. Her vision was focused on the muzzle of the pistol, filled with sea prism stone bullets. Her feet moved before she commanded them, and she roughly shouldered Ace out of the way. At the same time, the air was forced from her lungs as if she’d taken a sledgehammer to the chest, and she dropped to the ground.

“Kitty! _Kitty!”_

Voices were shouting her name - Ace, Ducky, Ossamondo, her parents. Rough hands pulled at her, and when she opened her eyes she found her head cradled in Ace’s lap. Blood still dripped from his chest, staining both of their clothes. Or maybe that was her blood too, blossoming from her own chest.

“You _idiot_ , what the fuck were you thinking?” Ace hissed. Ignoring his own wound, he pulled off his shirt with a grimace and pressed it down on the right side of her chest, where even now she could feel the bullet rattling with every sucking breath.

“I don’t...know,” Kitty gasped. Now that the adrenaline of the moment was fading, it was starting to _hurt_. “Couldn’t...stop myself.”

“Both of you are fucking idiots!” Deuce snapped. Kitty turned her head to the side, where Deuce stood over Leonardo who’d crumpled onto the ground after (presumably) being hit in the head with the butt of the pistol Deuce still held aloft. Ducky and Ossamondo held the two bodyguards at gunpoint. Then, the faces of her parents filled her vision.

“Kitty,” her mom gasped. “Oh baby, what were you thinking?”

“I knew you were rash, but this is too much,” her dad added with a faint smile.

“Hey mom, dad.” Kitty smiled up at them, blinking away tears. “I’ve missed you.”

“I know this is a touching reunion and all, but can we _please_ stop you two dumbasses bleeding first?” Deuce interrupted.

“Yes, let’s get the two of you to Skull quickly,” Ossamondo agreed.

“Excuse me, _Skull?”_ Kitty’s mom interrupted. “Who or what is Skull??”

“He’s our doctor,” Ducky said hastily. “It’s gonna be okay, Mrs. Kitty. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Oh! Mrs. Kitty, I kind of like that,” Kitty’s mom stage-whispered to her husband, who just shook his head wearily and knelt to scoop Kitty up from the floor. Ace tried to stand, but dropped heavily back to his knees, pale as a sheet before Ossamondo helped him up.

The seven of them slowly and awkwardly made their way out of the room and back outside. Kitty and Ace were loaded onto the same cart that had brought her up the mountain, and Deuce took the driver’s seat. With a snap of the reins, they headed back down towards the coast.

Kitty’s parents, who finally introduced themselves to everyone else as Bill and Karen, stuck close to Kitty the entire trip back to the Spadille. Thankfully though they didn’t pester her with questions, and let her focus on trying to breathe around the bullet in her chest. Ossamondo, Ducky, and Deuce weren’t so lucky, and took the brunt of the chatter.

“Ace?” Kitty mumbled. Beside her, he grunted and opened one sleepy eye.

“Yeah?”

“Sorry I got you shot.”

Ace snorted and then grimaced in pain. “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know it was sea stone.”

“Speaking of sea stone, I couldn’t find any keys to those cuffs,” Ducky chimed in. “Sorry. You’ll have to wait and see if Saber can crack those open.”

“It’s fine,” Kitty wheezed. “I feel great, I’m good.” Deuce’s derisive snort was clear even from all the way from the front.

“Buuuuut, I _did_ find some papers the marines might be interested in,” Ducky continued. “Seems our pal Leo was sticking his fingers into some illegal pies.”

“Well anybody could’ve told you that,” Bill said. “The whole reason we went to him in the first place is because it would be under the radar of the world government.”

“Questionable metaphor, but tell us more about these papers,” Ace said tiredly.

“I found letters between him and some low-level Marines, bribing them to look the other way on Leonardo’s smuggling and shit. Drugs, weapons, that kind of thing. Devil Fruits when he could get his hands on them.” Ducky sat back, grinning smugly. “Those papers have somehow been sent via snail to a few choice marine captains, who happen to oversee the low-level marines in question.”

Karen gasped. “If that’s true, then Leonardo’s business is done for good. They’ll be on their way to arrest him.”

“And he’ll be thrown into Impel Down,” Kitty finished.

“Impel Down?” Ossamondo prompted.

“Marine prison for pirates, mostly, but it’s not exclusive. Leonardo’s got a _lot_ of black and red on his ledger,” Kitty explained. “I think he’s earned himself a nice cozy little cell in there.”

“And we don’t have to worry about him anymore,” Bill said, eyes wide with wonder. He grabbed his wife’s hand. “We’re really free of him!”

“We’re here,” Deuce called back. “Duck, go tell Skull what’s going on. Ossamondo, you carry Ace. Bill, can you carry Kitty again?”

“Yeah!”

They unloaded carefully. Kitty’s head swam as she was held upright, her dad’s arm around her waist. Deuce appeared next to her, slipping his arm around her waist as well. “Come on,” he grunted.

“Thanks, Deuce.”

“Shut it.”

—-

Skull examined Ace while Saber picked at the sea stone prism cuffs still around Kitty’s wrists behind her back. “I’d offer you anesthetic, but chances are you’re going to burn it off the moment the bullet comes out anyway,” Skull said dryly.

“That’s fine,” Ace retorted. “Just gimme some whiskey or rum or something.”

Ducky tossed over a bottle, and Ace jerked the stopper out with his teeth before chugging down half the contents. “Alright, doc,” he gasped. “Go for it.”

“These are some good quality cuffs,” Saber muttered. Kitty bit back a whimper as he pulled on the cuffs a bit, aggravating her wound. “Shit, sorry. I think I’ve almost got it.”

A brief roar of flame engulfed the bed next to her, before it died down again to reveal Ace, still pale and bleeding but bullet-free. Skull held up the bloody bullet with his tweezers, examining it carefully. “Fascinating,” he said. “I had no idea sea stone could be refined down this small. It could be a good idea to hold onto it. Ducky, take this gauze and hold it onto Ace’s wound _very_ firmly. I’ll have to stitch him up after I remove Kitty’s bullet.”

“You got it.”

Ducky and Skull traded places just as Saber let out a satisfied exclamation, and the cuffs fell free from Kitty’s wrists. Skull leaned down until their faces were level. “Kitty, the bullet’s lodged in your lung, I’ve got to do actual surgery.”

“Explains why I can’t breathe,” Kitty panted as she let herself be laid back onto the table. “Let’s do it.”

“And _you_ , my dear, get the finest stolen anesthetic the Spadille has to offer,” Skull continued conversationally as he injected it into her arm.

“Aw damn, no alcohol for me?” Kitty said weakly.

“No ma’am. Now go to sleep, I’ll take good care of you,” Skull soothed. Behind him, Ace caught her eye and shot her a tired smile. She smiled back and let her eyes droop shut.

And immediately opened them again. Only, everything was different. Skull’s office was dark and quiet, and the familiar drone of Ace’s snoring filled the air. Kitty looked over to find her captain passed out on a cot next to hers, his chest bandages up underneath a new shirt. She wondered briefly if he’d fallen asleep watching over her.

Breathing still hurt, but from the looks of things Skull has gotten her patched up. Her bloodstained clothes had been removed, and she’d been changed into a comfy pair of pants and a loose shirt. Sitting upright still hurt, but she slipped off the cot and made her way to the door.

Outside, the sky had deepened to a soft purple, with streaks of pink and gold off to the west. The Spadille was out on the open water, no sight of land...but instinct told her that she was headed home. Down on the deck she could see her crew, sprawled out or leaning against the railing, drinking and eating Banshee’s latest concoction and chatting together. Ossamondo had pulled out his ukulele, and strummed the tiny instrument more delicately than seemed possible with such huge hands. In the center of the deck danced her parents, smiling at each other with a love and warmth that made Kitty’s chest ache - not only from the bullet wound.

“Kitty!”

Ducky leapt to his feet, diner forgotten. He bolted over to her and flung his arms wide to tackle her with a hug, only to be stopped by Ossamondo grabbing the back of his shirt. “Hold on there,” Ossamondo chastised gently. “I’d suggest you be gentle with our Vice Captain.”

“Oh. Right, sorry,” Ducky said, an embarrassed flush popping up. “I’m just really happy you’re okay.”

“Skull did good taking care of me. Ah, speak of the devil.”

Skull had appeared at her side as if summoned by the mention of his name. He whipped out his stethoscope and pressed it to her chest, motioning for her to take a breath. “I’m glad to see you awake. How do you feel? Still having trouble breathing? How do you rate the pain?”

“I’m good, doc,” Kitty assured him. “It hurts to breathe in deep and I’m still light headed, but otherwise I’m okay.”

“Hmm. Alright, but let me know immediately if anything changes.”

“Kitty!”

Gentle arms drew her into a hug, and Kitty turned into the embrace of her parents for the first time in fifteen years. They still smelled just the same as she remembered. Tears sprung into her eyes, and she made no effort to hide them when she finally pulled away.

“I can’t believe you guys are free,” Kitty sniffled. “It’s really real.”

“We never doubted you for a second,” Karen said warmly. Come sit down, eat, you’re still so pale.”

“Hold on a minute.”

Kitty turned to see Deuce stalking towards her, that same scowl on her face. She frowned at him. “Deuce, now’s not the time.”

He stopped arm’s width from her and stared her down hard. Everyone else quieted down, watching expectantly. She knew then - this wasn’t a personal thing, this was a crew thing. A Vice Captain thing. She squared her shoulders as best as she could and met his stare unflinchingly. After a long, long moment, Deuce harrumphed and held out his hand. Kitty didn’t speak, but took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

The atmosphere immediately relaxed, and everyone else dropped back into conversation. In the background, Ossamondo struck up his ukulele again. “I still don’t like you,” Deuce grumbled. “But you’ll do as Ace’s Vice Captain.”

“Glad you think so,” Kitty replied. “With the shit Ace gets us into, I need to know you’ll have my back.”

“Speaking of Ace, where is he?”

“Still asleep.”

Deuce snorted, but it was less derisive and more endeared. “Fuckin’ figures.”


	7. Allegiance

After almost fifteen years apart, it was absolutely surreal to sit down for dinner with her parents. In some ways, it was as if no time had passed at all. Kitty’s parents opted to keep dancing for a while to the sweet music of Ossamondo’s ukulele, while she sat and watched with a smile.

“Your parents look really good after spending a decade in prison,” Ducky commented. Kitty just hummed thoughtfully in response as she chewed her food. They really did look good, all things considered. They’d maybe lost some weight, and had a few more gray hairs, but they hadn’t lost the spark in their eyes or the warmth in their expressions.

“I still can’t believe we did it,” Kitty said, half to herself. “There were so many times I thought I’d never have this chance again.”

“Did you ever think about just...running away?”

She turned to face Ducky. His expression was open and unassuming, but she still hesitated before answering his question. “Once,” she said shortly. She was grateful when he didn’t press the subject. 

Karen dropped onto the deck next to Kitty, pink in the face but beaming. “Oh it’s been  _ years _ since we’ve been able to dance like that,” Karen exclaimed. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it.”

“You haven’t lost your touch,” Bill teased. He sat as well and poured a drink for his wife, who thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. “Is that young man Ace still in your infirmary? Mr. Skull told us he’d fallen asleep by time your surgery was finished.”

“He was asleep when I woke up, at least,” Kitty replied. She stabbed another bite of food with her fork and gestured with it pointedly. “If he’s awake but not on his way, then I’m a marine. The man is like a bloodhound when it comes to food.”

“Trust me, when Ace wakes up, we’ll all know,” Deuce agreed wisely.

“He’s handsome,” Karen said casually. She glanced sidelong at her daughter. “Is he  _ just  _ your captain?”

Kitty choked on her bite. Her crew mates burst into raucous laughter, and Ducky patted her on the back as she coughed and grimaced. “He’s  _ only  _ my captain, and even then just barely,” she wheezed. She took a long drink to help clear her throat. “The reason I’m vice captain is specifically to make sure he has his shit together. Which he doesn’t, 90% of the time.”

“It’s true,” Ducky said cheerfully. “Her job is literally to give Ace a kick in the ass when he needs it. Or to kick  _ our  _ asses when we need it. Just ask Banshee.”

Across the deck, Banshee scowled at the mention of her name. “Don’t.”

“Or not!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to assume,” Karen apologized. “I just thought, with how you took a bullet for him and all.”

“Leonardo was gonna kill him, mom,” Kitty frowned. “Captain or not, friend or not, I couldn’t just sit there.”

“I thought for sure Ace would’ve done something to save himself,” Bill commented. “You know, drop to the ground, try and hit the gun away, something.”

Kitty shook her head. “Seastone is a pretty powerful thing,” she said, “especially when it’s in bullet form. Believe me.”

“Oh no, I believe you, I just...nevermind. I’m just glad everything’s finally taken a turn for the better. Speaking of which, how is your chest? Does it still hurt?”

“No, I’m fine, Skull gave me some pretty good painkillers. And he’s the best doctor I’ve ever met, so he stitched me up perfectly,” Kitty said with a smile. Skull beamed at the praise.

“Always glad to lend a hand, my dear,” he said with a flourish of his hand. “Or a scalpel. Whatever’s necessary.”

The conversation soon turned to less weighty things, and the lot of them had nearly cleared their plates before they were interrupted by the distant THUD of a door bursting open.

“Hundred berries says that’s Ace,” Ducky said casually.

Deuce snorted. “That’s a sucker’s bet. Two hundred that the first thing he says is something about food.”

“Also a sucker’s bet, but you’re on.”

Sure enough, Ace popped up over the railing, wide-eyed and still a little pale. “Where’s Kitty?” he blurted out. “I woke up and she was gone-”

“I’m here,” Kitty called out. She waved to catch his eye. The moment he spotted her, Ace visibly relaxed. He shot her a relieved grin before turning to head down the stairs. Just outside the range of her vision, she heard Deuce grumbling as he handed a fistful of change to a delighted Ducky, but the blonde’s cheer vanished when Ace booted him from his seat and sat heavily next to Kitty.

“How’s your chest?” Ace asked, immediately grabbing a plate and piling it high with all the food he could reach. “I didn’t think you’d be out of bed so soon.”

“I’m fine. I could say the same of you, you got shot too.”

“Yeah, I know, I was there.” He gave her a quick smile. “We’re bullet buddies now.”

Kitty laughed. “Bullet buddies?”

“Yup. We even got shot in about the same place. We might even have matching scars.”

“As cool as matching scars would be, I still would rather neither of us been shot in the first place.”

Ace waved a dismissive hand. “You’re such a party pooper. It would’ve been fine if it weren’t sea stone.”

“For you, maybe. Not all of us are made of fire,” Kitty teased, prodding his shoulder. Ace swatted away her hand, sticking his tongue out at her between bites of food.

“I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Ace, but I asked your navigator if he’d kindly take us back to our home island,” Bill piped up. “We would’ve asked you, but you were asleep.”

Ace’s face split in a grin. “Hey, it’s no problem. That was the original plan anyway. I doubt Kitty here would let me live if I didn’t take you home after all that.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “They make it sound like I have this iron grip on the entire crew, but I really don’t,” she said exasperatedly. “But yeah, Dad, of course we’re taking you guys home. Deuce, how far away are we?”

“A couple hours,” Deuce replies. “Less than that, if we keep up this tailwind.”

Karen and Bill exchanged a glance. “That’s great,” Karen said after a second. “Your father and I have discussed this, but I don’t know if it’s occurred to you...the old house is probably in complete disrepair by now, after so long not being lived in.”

“We’re not asking for any help - god knows you and your crew have already given enough - but I don’t want you to be disappointed if the whole place is awful once we get there,” Bill added. “We’re expecting a  _ lot  _ of work ahead of us.”

“Oh. You don’t have to worry about me, I considered that ages ago,” Kitty said. “If it weren’t for Leonardo, I would’ve just spent my time fixing up the place for whenever you got back.  _ If  _ you ever got back.”

Karen reached over and gave Kitty’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “You’ve already done more for us than anybody should ever have to do.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve become a carpenter over the years,” Bill said lightly.

Kitty chuckled. “Well, if I can learn to become a pirate and to fling lightning from my fingertips, anything’s possible I guess.”

Karen gasped. “That’s right! We’d heard you ate a Devil Fruit, which is why Leonardo was so angry with you. That was true?”

“Oh yes,” Ace piped up. He gave Kitty a sidelong shit-eating grin. “She tried to kill me with it the first time we met.”

Kitty smacked Ace’s shoulder.“For the last time, stop saying I tried to kill you! It was  _ self defense.” _

“Was stabbing me self defense too?”

“Yes! It was! You’re getting off the point!” Kitty waited until Ace was mid-swallow of his food - when he would be sure not to turn intangible, so that the food would go down right - and grabbed his ear hard, allowing electricity to flow. Ace jumped to his feet, choking and jerking away.

“For fuck’s sake-”

“‘I don’t have an iron grip on the crew’,” Ducky mimicked in a poor falsetto, over the roaring laughter of the rest of the crew. “ _ Please _ .”

“I’ll electrocute you too if that’s what you want, Duck.”

“Fascinating! I’ve never seen a real Devil Fruit in action before today,” Bill said, staring at her wide-eyed. “Electricity? And you, Mr. Ace, have fire?”

“Yeah,” Ace replied, finally sitting again, though this time keeping a cautious few inches between himself and Kitty. “It’s come in pretty handy over the years.”

“Such as keeping himself from being shot. Usually,” Kitty said dryly.

“And keeping myself from being electrocuted. Usually,” Ace parroted.

—-

The Spadille maintained her tailwind, and soon enough the dark mass of an island appeared on the horizon. Kitty climbed up to the crow’s nest to watch as Tropic Drop drew closer, the signature cliffs appearing through the haze of oncoming evening. She could swear she could see the their little sky-blue house from here. Half an hour later they docked, and Kitty and her parents stepped foot on their home island for the first time in over a decade.

“Oh, it hasn’t changed a bit,” Karen sniffled. She slipped her arm through her husband’s. Bill leaned over to kiss her cheek.

“Shall we go home, dear?”

“Yes please.”

Kitty took her time trailing after her parents as they headed up the mountain path. It wasn’t that steep of an incline, but it was still enough to make her huff for breath past the ache on the right of her chest. As she walked, she absentmindedly played with sparks of electricity along her fingers. She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice Ace come up by her side until he bumped his elbow against hers.

“Hey, what’re you thinking so hard about?” he said lightly. “If you spark any harder, you’re gonna light your clothes on fire.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” she retorted. But her heart wasn’t in the barb, and Ace knew it. He bent his head down to look her in the eye.

“Come on, you’ve been acting weird all day. You wanted your parents free, right? And now they are. I figured you’d be happy.”

“I did. I  _ am _ happy, really. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Kitty opened her mouth - to say what, she wasn’t sure - but was saved by her mom calling for her. “Kitty, we’re here!” Karen called out. Kitty ignored Ace’s probing stare and picked up the pace until she drew even with her parents. As she finally laid eyes on her childhood home, she clasped her hands over her mouth.

“Cute place,” Ace commented. “I’m surprised it’s still in such good condition.”

“It  _ shouldn’t  _ be,” Dogya said. He walked over to a corner of the house and tapped his knuckles on the post. “It’s been empty, what, twelve years? More? I’m no carpenter, but it should be in disrepair, if not falling apart. This paint is hardly even peeling.”

“It was  _ burned down _ ,” Kitty said quietly. Bill, Karen, Ace, Dogya, Deuce, And Ducky all turned to look at her. “When Leonardo had them arrested, before I went to see him. He had his thugs burn the place. It was still burning when I left.”

Bill came over and pulled Kitty into a tight hug. “We can never apologize enough for what you’ve gone through,” he said roughly. She gave him a quick squeeze before pulling away.

“But if it was burned down, then how is it still here?” Deuce asked. “We’re at the right place, aren’t we?”

“You think they don’t recognize their own house?” Ducky pointed out. “I know it’s been a long time but still.” Deuce rolled his eyes. 

“It must’ve been rebuilt,” Ace mused. “But by whom?”

Bill and Karen headed inside, presumably to take a look around, while Dogya and Deuce continued to check out the outside. Kitty turned her gaze to the village at the base of the mountain, where she’d grown up playing with other kids and staying overnight at friend’s houses. Could they possibly have…?

“Mr. Ace, would you mind going out to the orchard with me? I’d like to inspect the trees and could use a young body to help me out,” Bill called. At Ace’s nod, both men disappeared around the side of the house towards the field gate. Karen, meanwhile, waved Kitty inside.

“Look at this! All the furniture’s been replaced. We even have new dishes in the cabinets,” she said excitedly.

Kitty opened a closet off to the side. “And new linens,” she commented. “Or at least, not really old ones. These don’t look like they’ve been used in ages. Do you think your old friends really rebuilt and stocked this place?”

“I don’t see how else this happened. They got it close, but this is clearly not the same house your father and I left.” Karen opened up the cabinets, peering inside. “Do you see any candles anywhere? The electricity seems to be off.”

“I mean, either Ace or I could light up the place no problem,” Kitty said lightly. “Do you think your backup generator is still here somewhere?”

“Oh, who knows. We’ll figure something out.”

—-

The Spades stuck around through dinner, not that the house actually had any food inside. Dogya and Ducky headed down the mountain to buy some food, while Deuce, Ace, Kitty, Karen, and Bill stayed at the cottage to dust and to generally prepare to settle in for a meal. Banshee came up the mountain as well to help; it’s not like she was the best cook on the planet, but after the long couple of days they’d all had, it was damn delicious. Of course, Bill and Karen asked the Spades to spend the night, and an hour later nearly every single one of them was sprayed unconscious across every single available surface. Even Deuce, as militant as he could be, was snoring quietly in a corner.

“How’s your chest?” Karen asked quietly. Bill puttered around in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes, while his wife sat down for a break.

“Hurts to breathe a bit. That’s not too surprising though.” Kitty rotated her arm gingerly, wincing at the pain the movement sent shooting through her chest. “I’ll be alright.”

Karen sat at the dining table and gestured for Kitty to do the same. “Come, sit. You’ve been on your feet all day, you need to rest, especially with an injury like that.”

Kitty smiled but did as she was asked. “It feels weird to be sitting at the same table as my mom again,” she said.

Karen laughed and wiped her eyes. “I still can hardly believe we’re back here after all this time.”

“Yeah. It’s good to be home. It’s been…too long.”

Karen peered at her carefully. “Kitten, are you happy?”

“Of course I’m happy,” Kitty replied. “I’ve been looking forward to getting you and dad back home for years-”

“No, I mean are you happy with your new friends? Your father and I never saw you while we were imprisoned, but we heard enough to know that the crew you were conscripted into was...not kind. That kind of thing is  _ not  _ good for a child to grow up in.” Karen blinked away a film of tears, prompting Kitty to reach out and take her hand. “I know you weren’t happy there. How could you be? Your father and I were so happy for you when we heard you got out of that life. But now I see you on  _ another  _ pirate crew. And you’re Vice Captain, no less! It’s...surprising. But you seem genuinely happy with these boys. I just want to make sure you’re really alright.”

“‘Course I am,” Kitty mumbled. She glanced back into the living room, where her crew - her friends - were still sprawled out, passed out hard and filling the air with snoring. “Ace is a good man. They’re  _ all _ good. For pirates, at least.”

“I assume there are big plans for after you all took care of Leonardo?”

Kitty nodded. “Yeah, Ace wants to go to the Grand Line. There’s a man he’s looking for, Shanks.”

“And what about you?”

She froze. “I don’t...what do you mean?”

Karen gave Kitty’s hand a squeeze. “You should go with them,” she said softly. “Piracy is in your blood now, you wouldn’t fit in here anymore.”

Kitty stared open-mouthed. “Mom...I just...are you sure?”

Karen smiled warmly. “Your father and I agreed on this earlier today while you were asleep. We think you could be really happy with this crew, if that’s what you want.”

“It is,” Kitty admitted quietly. “They’re nothing like the thugs Leonardo hired. They helped me get you both, for no reason other than I asked for help.”

“They seem like good friends. Don’t lose them,” Karen said wisely. She squeezed Kitty’s hand once more before releasing it. “You and your crew are welcome to stay here as long as you like, but something tells me Mr. Ace won’t want to postpone y’all’s adventure too much longer.”

Kitty laughed a bit. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll see what he thinks about it.”

—-

Morning dawned early, earlier than any of them would really have liked, but the Spades dutifully helped finish cleaning up after themselves, then prepared to set sail. Or at least, most of them did. Kitty took a few minutes to climb to the upper level of the storage barn and sit on the ledge, watching the sun rise over the orchard. A scuffle behind her told her she wasn’t alone, but she kept her eyes on the golds and peach pinks in the east as Ace sat next to her.

“Your dad found a stray crate of your family wine that Leonardo missed,” he said after a moment. “He said we’re free to keep it, as ‘gratitude for a debt that can never be repaid’, he said.”

Kitty huffed a laugh. “Sounds like something dad would say. Is the Spadille all ready to set sail?”

“Yeah, just as soon as we get back down there and do last minute checks.” They were silent for a long moment before Ace continued, haltingly. “I hope- I mean,  _ we  _ hope...you still want to sail with us to the Grand Line?”

Kitty turned to fully face him. The early morning sun rays had painted his freckled skin a golden hue, but it darkened under her stare. “I can still go with you?” she said finally.

Ace blinked. “Of course. Why would I - we not want you to come? You’re our vice captain. You’re my friend. I just thought that...this is your home. Your parents. You might not want to give up your roots.”

Kitty dropped her stare to her lap. “Honestly, I haven’t had roots since my parents left. Except for once I joined your crew. The Spadille is the first place since leaving this island that I felt like I was home. That I had friends, family. My parents are blood, and they’re wonderful, but I  _ want  _ to stay with you guys.”

Ace’s eyes widened with every word. “So you’ll stay? For real?” he said. Kitty laughed and nodded.

“Yes. Let’s go to the Grand Line together.”

Ace’s face broke out into a blinding smile, and he pulled her into a crushing hug. He only released when the pressure became too much and she flinched and groaned. “Shit, sorry, forgot you got shot,” he apologized, but he still looked far too happy to truly be sorry.

“How can you  _ forget  _ I got shot when you’re the one I took a bullet for,” Kitty wheezed. Ace laughed, and soon she was too.

“Are you alright though?” he asked after a minute. Kitty leaned back on her hands, looking back out to the horizon. The golds and pinks were softening into pale yellow and pastel blue as the sun continued to rise, and a breeze stirred past them carrying the sweet scent of pomegranate blooms. She breathed it in deep and smiled contentedly.

“You know, for the first time in a long time, I really am,” she answered.


	8. Grand Line

Ace crouched on his usual perch on the railing of the Spadille’s upper deck, casually overseeing the last-minute preparations for their voyage. After the week-long trip to Loguetown, andall morning spent gathering food and such, they were  _ finally  _ ready to go. “Dogya, how’re we looking on supplies?” Ace called.

“All set!” Dogya shouted back. “We shouldn’t have to stop for supplies for several weeks.”

“Banshee, what about food?”

“Assuming you shits don’t eat everything you can possibly get your hands on, we’ll be fine for a few weeks,” Banshee answered.

“Deuce, the weather?”

“Perfect for setting sail, Ace,” Deuce replied.

Ace stood, hands on his hips and setting a determined stare at the horizon before cutting his gaze towards Kitty. He shot her that wild grin of his. “Vice captain, would you do the honors?” he offered.

Kitty gave a lazy salute before turning to face her crew. She took in a deep, slow breath before shouting, “Unfurl the sails! Hoist anchor! Secure all cargo and cannons! Saber at helm! Mihar at nest! Deuce, point us towards Reverse Mountain! Set sail for the Grand Line!”

The Spades cheered and leapt into action before she’d even finished speaking. The deck was a flurry of action as everyone leapt to their tasks, and Kitty only spared a brief moment to oversee the activity before turning to head to the steering deck.

“-a mess for regular navigation,” Deuce was saying as she joined him, Ace, and Saber at the helm. “We’ll have to figure out how to work it once we arrive.”

Ace shot her another grin as she stepped up beside him. “Good job, vice captain,” he said under his breath. “So what would you suggest?” he continued at a normal volume. “If our compass won’t work on the Grand Line, how will we navigate?”

“Why won’t our compass work there?” Kitty interrupted. “And why didn’t we know this sooner?”

Deuce grunted. “A shopkeeper mentioned it just before we left Loguetown this morning,” he replied. “It’s almost all hearsay but apparently you gotta have some special kind of compass to navigate. A log-pole or something. He couldn’t tell me more than that. I mentioned it to Ace earlier.”

“And I forgot to tell  _ you. _ My bad,” Ace finished.

“If we’re doing this, we  _ have  _ to get one of those compasses,” Saber added. “We can’t just wander aimlessly until we bump into Shanks or the One Piece.”

Ace hummed thoughtfully and stroked his chin. “Kitty, what do you think?” he asked. The eyes of all three men fell on her. She raised her chin under the scrutiny.

“The marines have bases everywhere, yeah? They must have some stationed on the Grand Line too. So they must have a way to navigate it,” she answered. “What if we just steal one? And maybe grab some food and money while we’re at it. Because, pirates.”

Deuce and Saber seemed to be thoughtfully considering the suggestion, but Ace looked fit to burst with delight. “I knew I did good recruiting you,” he said proudly. “Maybe that’ll get you a proper bounty, too!”

Kitty groaned. “Bounties aren’t the end-all be-all in life, you know.”

“Sure, but just you wait till you break 100,000 berries. Trust me, it’s better than sex.” Ace winked, which only earned him an eye roll.

“Speak for yourself,” Saber muttered.

“Can we focus, please,” Deuce interrupted. “It’s time to set sail.”

Perfect timing, too. At that moment, Ducky popped up at the top of the stairs. “Everything’s set!” he said brightly. “We’re ready!”

At Saber’s gesture, the sails were pulled tight and the Spadille pulled away from the dock, and everyone’s eyes turned to the distant horizon and to their next adventure.

—-

Getting into the Grand Line had been interesting to say the least; Deuce hadn’t known exactly what to expect when it came to Reverse Mountain, but it had been self-explanatory as they approached the Red Line. A super fast, super strong current propelled towards the mountain, strong enough to defy gravity all the way to the top, past the reach of the clouds, before dropping back down the other side to deposit into the beginning of the path around the world. This current was also strong enough to take their ship and smash it against the near-vertical red stone that made up the Red Line, if the Spades had missed their mark for riding the uphill current.

But they hadn’t. Saber had skillfully maneuvered the Spadille along the current, keeping smack in the center of the dozens of stone arches at the beginning of the path. The wind whipped the ocean spray against their skin hard enough to sting, and the temperature had dropped quickly enough for frost to accumulate on the rigging and their clothes. When the Spadille reached the very peak of the mountain, it hung suspended in the air for one, two, three seconds...and they were the longest, most beautiful seconds of Kitty’s life thus far. The frigid air was crystal clear, and far below them they could see the soft gray blanket of clouds. Above them, the sky was impossibly blue, and deep enough that Kitty felt as if they could just keep rising into the air and never come down.

But come down they did, and the ride back down the other side of Reverse Mountain was even swifter than the ascent. Frost melted, the roar of the current filled their ears, and her stomach flip-flopped at the curious sensation of lightness that filled her. Judging from her crew’s expressions, they were feeling it too.

“We’re almost there!” Ducky shouted over the wind.

Ace whooped, holding his hat down with one hand so it wouldn’t fly away. “Here we come!!”

They dropped below the cloud layer, and the flat, glimmering ocean far below them rushed up at them impossibly fast. Kitty gripped the railing tightly, eyes wide and heart hammering in her chest, but a wild grin across her face all the same. The Spadille dropped closer and closer-

Everyone lurched forward as the keel hit the ocean, and the ship shuddered under their feet. Kitty stumbled and nearly fell, but Banshee grabbed her elbow and held her steady. Ducky actually flew forward, only to be stopped by Ossamondo grabbing the back of his shirt. Seconds later, they were clear of the wild current and the wind-whipped ocean spray, and the Spadille’s momentum carried it placidly across the now-calm ocean.

Kitty brushed away the wet hair that clung to her face, blinking seawater from her eyes. Around her, her crew did the same, wringing water from their clothes or assessing the damage. “Is everyone alright?” she called.

Everyone chimed in that they were fine, with the exception of Ace who answered by shaking his head like a dog, flinging seawater everywhere. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “That was pretty fuckin’ cool!”

“ _ Cool!?” _ Ducky retorted. “The ship was almost torn apart with that landing! I felt her whimpering in pain!”

“Are you sure that wasn’t  _ you  _ whimpering?” Deuce snarked. Ducky shot him an adorable little scowl.

“Okay, but did you die?” Ace said pointedly. Kitty laughed and threw an arm around Ducky’s shoulders.

“Come on, Duck, we’re fine,” she said cheerfully. “But still, go help Dogya check below decks for any hull breakage, just in case.”

“Yeah, fine, whatever.”

“The rest of you, double check our cargo is still secured,” Ace added, speaking to the crew at large. “Ossamondo, unfurl the sail. Mihar, you’re on nest. Banshee, you’re in charge for the moment.”

“Where are we headed, Ace? Just because we know we’re hitting a military base doesn’t mean we know where we’re going,” Deuce said pointedly. “Not to mention the Grand Line isn’t exactly mapped. We’re blind out here.”

“Aw, quit whining,” Saber said. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We could try asking the locals,” Kitty said dryly. The men turned to follow her gaze; there on a short, sheer outcropping of the reddish stone of the Red Line, stood a lighthouse, a small stone house, and a peculiar, stout old man staring the Spadille down with his hands on his hips.

Saber maneuvered the Spadille until she sat even with the outcropping, and dropped anchor. Ace stepped onshore first, lifting a hand in a friendly wave.

“Hey!” he called to the old man. “Can we ask you something?”

The man eyed Ace, then Kitty and Deuce who’d followed him ashore. “Bunch of goddamn amateurs,” he grumbled. “Yeah, fine, whatever. But I ain’t gonna feed y’all or any of that shit.”

“That’s fine, we just wanted to ask a couple questions and then we’ll be out of your hair,” Kitty assured him. “We were told you need a special kind of compass to navigate here, got any idea where we can find one?”

The old man gave an unamused snort. “You mean to say you came to the most dangerous place in the world without a logpose?”

“Oh, log _ pose _ ,” Deuce said. “Not log pole.”

“We were gonna figure it out,” Ace answered. “You don’t happen to have one we can use, do you?”

“No, I don’t,” the old man snapped. “I’ve only got mine and you can’t have it.”

“Okay, okay,” Kitty interrupted. She raised her hands placatingly. “We’re not gonna take yours. We just wanna know if you can point us in the direction of one.”

“And what, go sailing in the Grand Line with no logpose? You’re the stupidest pirates I’ve met yet,” the old man growled.

“Well we can’t go home, the Spadille’s not built to handle the calm belt,” Deuce shot back. “We just need you to point us in the direction of the nearest military base!”

“And why should I help you??”

“There’s gotta be something you want that we could provide,” Kitty said reasonably. “Anything in your house need repair? Our shipwright is a good handyman as well.”

The old man gave a derisive snort. “I’ve been living here for over fifty years, I’m not some brat who doesn’t even know how to hammer a nail.”

“We could just take your compass,” Deuce pointed out flatly.

“No, we’re not gonna ransack this guy,” Kitty snapped. Deuce looked taken aback, but Ace met her stare unflinchingly. “We’re gonna be civil about this and save looting for the marines. There’s gotta be something we can trade for information,” she continued, turning back to the old man. “We don’t have any money right now, but we’ve got alcohol, meat-”

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Ace interrupted.

“You can have your pick,” Kitty continued. “No threats, no theft. I’m willing to give a little trust if you are.”

The old man snorted. “Trust? You’re  _ pirates _ , why should I trust you?”

Kitty shrugged. “You don’t have to. But we want to be out of your hair just as much as you do. What do you say?”

The old man stared her down for several seconds as if sizing her up, before he finally sighed. “Fine. Have you got any spare medical supplies?”

Ace frowned. “Is someone hurt here?”

“Mind your own business,” the man barked back. “It’s my offer, take it or leave it.”

At Ace’s nod, Deuce headed back towards the ship to grab Skull and head inside. A tense few minutes passed before Deuce and Skull returned, the latter of the two carrying a bag. “Forgive me for intruding, but I’m a doctor,” Skull said lightly. “If someone’s hurt, I’d be happy to examine-”

“No,” the old man said bluntly. He grabbed the bag and dropped it unceremoniously at his feet. “Head straight out from the current. Look for three bright stars close together; follow the bottom one for a half day. That’ll lead you to the nearest base. They’ll have logposes there.”

“And what if they don’t have one?” Ace asked.

The old man gave a grim smile. “Then you’re fucked, son.”

—-

Without a compass - or at least, a working one - the Spades would have to wait until nightfall to set sail, to go by the stars. The old man finally introduced himself as Crocus and begrudgingly allowed them to remain anchored there for the day, so long as the crew stayed on the ship. They spent the rest of the afternoon double checking the ropes and supplies, and getting some rest. It felt like it took ages, but the sun finally dipped down towards the horizon, touched down, and vanished.

While the rest of the crew did the final preparations, Kitty grabbed a bowl of that night’s dinner - Banshee’s signature mediocre stew - and headed over to the gangplank, still connecting the ship to the shore.

“Hey, where’re you going? We’re about to sail,” Ducky called after her.

“I’ve got something to do first,” she replied. She stepped across the plank and dropped onto the rocky red soil, then strode towards the lighthouse. Despite the rapid onset of evening, Crocus still lounged outside on his chair.

“I thought I told you brats to piss off already.” He didn’t even look up from his book as she approached. He did look up, however, when she set the bowl of stew on his little table next to his lamp.

“I know we already gave you what you asked for,” Kitty said, “but I wanted to give you something else as a thank you. It’s not super great, but it’s food, so.”

The old man lifted a fuzzy eyebrow. “As a thank you, you bring me some shitty soup?”

“I might’ve brought you something nicer if you weren’t such a cantankerous old fart,” she shot back. Crocus stared at her for a moment before a croaky laugh burst out.

“You might be right,” he said after a moment. “Setting sail soon?”

“Yeah, as soon as I get back aboard. So, thanks, grandpa. Don’t die of old age any time soon,” Kitty sniped. Crocus snorted and waved his hand dismissively, turning back to his book. She shook her head and turned back to the Spadille, where they were ready at last to set sail. Ducky gave her a confused look as she stepped back aboard, but she just shook her head. Above them, Ace called out orders from where he’d climbed halfway up the rigging, readying the sails. “Unfurl sails!” he shouted. “Hoist anchor! Saber, take us away!”

The sails dropped with a rustle, and the crew cheered as the Spadille pulled away from shore. Kitty spared one last glance backwards, in time to see Crocus take a suspicious sip of the stew she’d left. She allowed herself a second to smile before she turned back to the task at hand, setting off towards the three brightest stars on the first step of their journey.


	9. Acquired

“So how exactly are we supposed to snatch a logpole from the marines?” Ducky asked. “They’re not just gonna hand one over if you ask.”

“Of course not,” Ace scoffed. “Like I said, we’re just gonna take it.”

“It’s a log _ pose _ , and we’ve got to be careful about this,” Kitty said firmly. “If we waltz up to the island, guns and Ace blazing, we’ll be met with the full force of the marine fleet and have our asses handed to us.”

“I think you’re underestimating us,” Ace protested. “You don’t get notoriety by playing nice with the world government.”

“I’m not saying we’re gonna become law abiding citizens, but we’ve got to be smart. If this goes south, we’ll need to be able to run, which means we’ll need a way to navigate,” Kitty explained.

“She’s right,” Deuce agreed. “If we gotta hightail it, we can’t just go off with no idea where to go. And they’ll alert other ships in the area, so we’ll be royally fucked. Our only option is to sneak in to get the logpose. Once we’ve got a hold of it,  _ then _ we can wreak havoc.”

“Hell yeah, I’m down for that,” Ace said cheerfully.

Kitty tutted. “I’m wondering if the only part of the plan you’ve heard is ‘havoc’.”

“No, I also heard ‘wreak’.”

“Anyway, we’ll need to consider how to sneak in,” Saber said. “We don’t exactly look like model marine citizens.”

“Then why don’t we just make it to where we do?” Ducky said offhandedly. Everyone turned to look at him, and his cheeks darkened. “What? Why not just steal some uniforms or something?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Kitty said. “Most marine bases have a storage building set off to the side, there’s bound to be spare uniforms there. Maybe the logposes will be kept there too.”

“I don’t know, that all seems just a little too easy,” Ace said doubtfully. “We just sneak in, grab some stuff, and skip out without so much as a fight? That’s boring.”

“Alright, tell you what. We’ll make sure we have a logpose, and  _ then  _ we’ll cause a scene and steal some stuff. Valuables, food, the left sock out of every sock pair, that kind of thing,” Kitty said sarcastically.

“You tease, but that’s exactly what I want. You’ve gotta get a real bounty  _ somehow. _ ”

“We’ll make sure the ship is ready to leave whenever,” Saber chimed in. When Ace shot him a look, he quickly added, “not so we can run away, but so we can avoid having our stern blasted to bits by the marines you’re inevitably gonna piss off. It’s for the Spadille’s sake.”

“Anyway, we’ll be there in another 9 hours. If ever there’s a time to get some rest, it’s now,” Deuce said. “Kitty, you usually have first watch. You wanna have someone else do it tonight, give you a break?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll take first watch. Ducky, come relieve me in about four hours.”

“Aw, why me?”

“Because I’m the boss of you, that’s why.”

“Aww.  _ Fine.” _

—-

In the end, it was Kiitty, Ace, Deuce, and Mihar who made up the search party. Saber brought the Spadille back around some large outcroppings of the island to avoid being spotted, even though that meant they’d have to walk a ways to get to the Marine base. Mihar peered down at the base through his binoculars from their perch atop the rocks.

“Only a couple of marines are out to patrol,” he said. “Do we really have to steal marine uniforms? They’re so ugly. That’s one of the things I miss the least.”

“Yes, we know,” Deuce said testily. “You’ve said that six times in the last hour. Mayhaps you should use your previous marine knowledge to find the storage shed, instead of complaining.”

Mihar tutted whole Ace snickered. “I know, I know. Sheesh. Okay, I think I see it, about a klick southeast of us.”

“And in normal non-marine terms?” Kitty said lightly.

“A hop a skip and a jump. Come on, it doesn’t look like there’s anybody near it at the moment.”

The four of them made their way down as stealthily as possible, keeping to the shadows. At her side, Ace kept bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes darting this way and that. He didn’t still until Kitty reached out and touched his arm.

“Relax,” she said quietly. “You’re too antsy.”

He huffed. “I know. I just prefer an honest face-to-face fight, instead of sneaking around.”

“It’s just until we find a logpose. After that you can beat the hell out of however many marines you’d like.”

Ace’s eyes twinkled. “Promise?”

“Promise,” she said with a smile. Another minute passed, and they reached the warehouse. Mihar had no trouble busting open the lock letting them slip inside the box-filled room.

“Alright folks, time to suit up,” Deuce said. “Split up and search for uniforms.”

“And a logpose, while we’re at it. You never know where they might have these things stored,” Kitty added.

Across the room, Ace gave a heavy sigh as he cracked open a crate. “I was hoping they’d have spare food kept out here,” he said. “I’m only finding paper and spare weapons and such.”

“Should we take weapons as well?” Mihar asked. “Marines carry swords most of the time, after all.”

“Nah. Don’t want to arouse too much suspicion.” Kitty pried the lid off another crate and let out a satisfied noise. “Aha! Uniforms. Gather ‘round, boys, it’s time to get dressed.”

“That’s not something I hear often,” Ace said with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. Deuce shot Kitty a long-suffering look, as if to say  _ do you see what I’ve had to deal with? _ Kitty just shook her head and tossed shirts at each of them.

“Just make sure you actually button this one up properly,” she said lightly. “They don’t really let marines wander around with their tits out.”

“When you look as good as I do, it’s a crime to cover it up.”

Each of them dutifully pulled on uniforms, though no matter how Mihar, Kitty, and Deuce cajoled him, Ace refused to button the shirt. He just shot them a roguish grin and pulled a marine cap low over his eyes. Then the four of them slipped back outside, and headed towards the main base. 

“We should split up,” Deuce said. “Cover more ground.”

Ace nodded. “Right. Kitty, what do you think?”

“Mihar and I have the most experience with marines. One of us should go with Ace, and the other with Deuce,” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t care which I’m with.”

Ace sidled over and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I trust Deuce to keep Mihar out of trouble.”

“If you expect  _ me _ to keep  _ you _ out of trouble, I think you’re asking a bit much,” Kitty said dryly. Ace, Mihar, and Deuce all chuckled at that.

“Mihar and I will be a team, and Kitty and Ace will be a team,” Deuce said. “If anything goes wrong, meet back at the Spadille. Let’s get inside.”

The four of them headed in, offering casual nods at the scant handful of actual marines they passed. Mihar and Deuce headed down a hall to the left, while Kitty and Ace took a right. “Keep it casual,” Kitty murmured. “But not  _ too  _ casual.”

“There’s such a thing as too casual?”

“There is when it’s you.”

Whoever had built this base had seemed to revel in adding long, twisting hallways that seemed to have no end. Most of the rooms off to the sides were barracks rooms or offices...but no storage rooms. Kitty could feel Ace growing restless at her side, but she pushed it out of mind. They just had to find a logpose, and they could go-

Kitty turned a corner just as something hard and pointy slammed into her hip, making her stumble. The young man pushing the cart she’d run into gasped.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry!” he blurted out. “I didn’t see you! Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Kitty groaned. She peeked down at her hip, where her skin was already red and swelling, and would undoubtedly bruise, but there was no blood. “I’ll be alright.”

“Your uniform tore,” Ace pointed out, tugging lightly at the ripped fabric.

“There’s no way Aokiji will let you go around in a torn shirt,” the young man said. “Want me to go grab you a new one from storage? It’s my fault, I should.”

“No, no,” Kitty said hastily. “If you could just point me in the direction of it, I’ll go get it. I should’ve been looking where I was going.”

The marine didn’t look too convinced, but he nodded anyway. “I think it’s around the corner here and three doors on the right,” he said, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by the doc and have ‘em take a look at me,” she smiled. “Thanks…?”

“Dax.”

“Dax. See you around.” With a wave, Kitty and Ace continued down the hall in the direction Dax had indicated. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Ace shot her a calculating look.

“That was some quick thinking there,” he said under his breath. “You sure you didn’t run into him on purpose?”

“Yes, I’m sure. This bruise hurts like shit,” Kitty muttered. Ace laughed. “Come on, here’s the storeroom.”

Ace rifled through the boxes of the cramped room while Kitty stood watch, peering out of the cracked doorway. The seconds lengthened into minutes, and she shifted restlessly.

“Hurry up,” she said. “We could be caught anytime.”

“I know, but whoever stocked this room did a shit job, I can’t find anything.”

Kitty scowled, glancing once more out into the hall...and froze. Someone was coming right for the store room. She pulled the door shut as quietly as she could. “Someone’s coming,” she hissed. “Find that logpose  _ now _ .”

Ace swore. “Fuck, I’m trying!” She joined him, rifling through the box. It was full of ordinary compasses, but those wouldn’t do them any good. Logpose, logose, where the  _ fuck _ was a logpose-

The doorknob jiggled, and Kitty’s heart stopped in her chest. Ace turned to face the door, flickers of flame in his fists and a gleam in his eye. They didn’t have a logpose yet, they couldn’t afford a fight. Thinking fast, Kitty grabbed Ace by the collar of his shirt, jerked him close, and kissed him full on the mouth just as the door opened.

 

Behind them, the newcomer cleared his throat. Kitty broke away from Ace as if startled, turning to face the marine - the  _ admiral _ who stood before them, looking down at them with an air of amusement. “Perhaps you two should be more discreet about these kinds of things,” he said with a faint smile. “I’ll let it go...this time.”

“Sorry,” Kitty said hastily. Behind her, Ace was mercifully silent. Good. “We’ll...we’ll do that.” She grabbed turned back to him, finally spotting his curious expression - eyes wide, mouth soft and slightly open - and grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go.” He just nodded dumbly, following behind as she led him along. The admiral watched as they disappeared around the corner.

“What was  _ that _ for?” Ace mumbled the moment they were out of earshot. Kitty dropped his hand and ran her fingers through her hair.  _ Damn it _ , she thought to herself.

“We needed a good excuse for why we were in the storage room,” she replied distractedly. “Shit. we didn’t even get the logpose.”

“We  _ had _ an excuse, your torn shirt,” Ace pointed out. “You could’ve just told him that.”

“Yeah, I suppose, but you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

He laughed, finally seeming to relax. “Anyway, we  _ did _ find what we came here for,” he continued.

Kitty turned to give him a look. “What?”

Ace grinned and lifted a hand, and the light glinted off the glass globe that held a tiny, delicate compass center. “This is a logpose, right?”

She gasped and snatched it from him. “When did you get this!?”

His grin widened by a couple molars. “Right before you kissed me.”

“Oh shut up, you know as well as I do that it was just to get us out of that situation. That admiral almost certainly had a strong Devil Fruit, we couldn’t afford to fight that in close quarters.” Kitty peered closely at the logpose. The globe was set on a leather wrist strap, with a buckle to hold it on securely. She tapped the globe with a fingernail. It didn’t seem too terribly fragile, but that didn’t mean they could be careless with it. “How does it work, do you think?”

“Well, regular compasses don’t work on the Grand Line, right? Maybe it’s less about cardinal directions and more about...general directions?” he suggested.

“General directions? Like, ‘there’s something this way, go this way’?”

“Maybe. We won’t know until we try. Now, if memory serves me, I think  _ somebody _ promised me that once we had the logpose, we could wreak havoc,” Ace said, striking an exaggerated thoughtful pose. “But whomst could that have been??”

Kitty couldn’t stop a smile, but hefted a dramatic sigh still. “I suppose I  _ did _ promise,” she said. She started down the hall with Ace trailing behind. “But at least let’s get away from that admiral first.”

“Aw, that takes the fun out of it,” he pouted. “Actually...now that I think about it, you haven’t seen me in a real firefight yet, have you?”

She blinked. “Oh. No, I guess I haven’t, just brawls now and then.”

Ace stopped and turned to face her, looking serious for a change. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

A slow grin spread across his face. “Then watch me work. You can go back to the ship and wait for me if you want.”

Kitty was already shaking her head before he finished speaking. “Oh no, there’s no chance I’m gonna let you go causing chaos without me,” she said firmly, slipping her arm through his. “There’s no telling what kind of shit you’ll get into without me.”

Ace laughed. “Darlin, you assume I won’t just get into the same shit  _ with _ you. Come on, let’s find Deuce and Mihar.”

"Lead on, captain."


	10. Hot as Ice

The Spades had seen Ace’s flames in action many times before. It flared up when he was excited, or surprised, or upset. He even used it in daily life: lighting Banshee’s cigarettes for her, lighting candles, illuminating dark places...if he could think of some reason to use his flames, no matter how small, he would. Even Kitty, who’d only been with the Spades for a couple months, knew that Ace took great pleasure in showing off with them.

On top of that, the Spades brawled all the time amongst themselves, as a way to let off steam or settle an argument or even just to stay in shape. The crew was never afraid to challenge their captain, and Ace never backed down from those challenges - and he was never afraid to use his flames on his crew. He never seriously hurt any of them, of course, but the Spades went through their fair share of burn cream.

But none of that touched on Ace in a real, serious, all out fire fight. And a fire fight it truly was: the air shimmered with the heat, and raging flames licked up the walls as Kitty watched her captain easily hold off no less than a dozen marines with that cocky grin across his face. He was  _ incredible.  _

“Please don’t tell me that’s all you got,” he called over the roar of the fire. “I’m only just getting warmed up here.”

Another marine popped up behind the others, hauling a fat fire hose. He twisted a knob on the top and let loose a huge spray of water, which smothered most of the flames and left both Kitty and Ace soaked and standing in a few inches of water. The flames around him sputtered and died.

“Aha! Everyone knows water beats fire,” one of the marines jeered. “Looks like all that bounty was just overcompensation!”

Ace shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. Kitty wrinkled her nose at him. “Just for that, I’m not gonna leave you out of this,” she said sternly.

“I’ll live.”

Before the marines could do more than shoot each other puzzled glances, Kitty released a good solid electrical shock into the water. Both Ace and the dozen or so marines stiffened, groaning and twitching under the assault. Finally she released, and pulled Ace’s arm around her shoulders before he could collapse. Leftover static crackled in all the places they touched.

“You’re  _ shockingly _ good at that,” Ace said, his words only slightly slurred. Kitty ignored his dazed smile, instead focusing on keeping Ace on his feet.

“Come on, we need to get away from that hose. You can’t fight around that thing.”

“Y’h I can.”

“You’re useless when you’re soaked,” Kitty said pointedly. “Let’s get outside. Can you walk yet?”

“Yes but I like you holding me.” Ace winked, making Kitty roll her eyes and shove him away a bit more forcefully than intended. 

—-

After they’d set out to reunite with Deuce and Mihar, they’d wound up in the mess hall...and been almost immediately recognized. So much for the uniforms they’d pilfered. The fight that broke out afterwards was inevitable, and they  _ still _ hadn’t found Deuce and Mihar.

Kitty and Ace ran down the halls, peering in doorways and routinely throwing fire or lightning back behind them to keep the pursuing marines at a distance. “Where the hell are they?” Kitty demanded. “You’d think all the yelling would tell them something happened.”

“I’m sure they’re around here somewhere,” Ace replied. He wasn’t even breathing hard as they ran, which was incredibly unfair in her opinion. “Deuce and I have a running contest to see who can cause the most chaos for marines, and he’s not one to sit back and let himself be shown up.”

“How does that help us find the goddamn exit??”

“It doesn’t, it just makes me feel better.”

They turned yet another corner, and Kitty looked up to spot a familiar figure walking away from them. They turned around just in time for Kitty and Ace to skid to a halt beside them. “Dax, just the person I wanted to see!” Kitty exclaimed. She tossed an arm around his shoulder. “We’re in a bit of a mess, think you could help us out?”

“Wh- you again? What mess do you-” Dax cut off as the marines that had been in pursuit finally caught up, freezing at the sight of Kitty’s arm around Dax. The young man paled as he put two and two together. “You guys are pirates!” he gasped. Kitty allowed a mild electric shock to spark along her fingers on the arm still around his neck, and Dax flinched.

“Sure are,” Kitty agreed. To the other marines, she raised her voice and said, “Put your weapons down or I’ll electrocute him.”

Ace shot her a look while Dax squeaked in terror. The marines did as she asked, and stayed put while Kitty backed Dax up until they’d disappeared around the corner and down the hall. When she was satisfied they weren’t being followed, she released Dax. He leapt away and fumbled for his pistol - which Kitty held in her hand, from where she’d grabbed it from his waist.

“Relax, I wasn’t actually gonna electrocute you,” she said, holding out the pistol butt-first. Dax didn’t look convinced, but took it anyway.

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take the word of someone who just threatened to kill me,” Dax said warily.

Kitty scoffed. “I’m a pirate, not a barbarian,” she said scathingly. “I’d rather not kill if I can avoid it.”

Dax whirled around to face Ace. “Did you believe she was going to electrocute me? You just stood there and let her take me hostage!”

Ace shrugged. “I knew she wasn’t gonna actually kill you. She’s my vice captain, I don’t have to babysit every decision she makes.”

“See? Now relax. We already got what we came for, we just need to know where the exit is,” Kitty finished. She clapped a hand down on the marine’s shoulder. “Oh, and where our crewmates are, if you know. I can’t seem to find them.”

“Why should I help pirates!? And a pirate with a huge bounty at that,” Dax said, jabbing an accusatory finger at Ace. Ace just gave a huge, smug grin in response. “I just got here, the admiral will have my head if I help you!”

“I don’t think how long you’ve been here will affect you getting your ass beat for helping pirates, honestly,” Ace pointed out. “Besides, we just kidnapped you. You can always claim we forced you. Or we  _ could _ force you.”

“We’re not killing,” Kitty said sharply. Ace shot her a hurt look.

“I never said we were gonna kill him! Just knock him around a little. We gotta look tough, we’re trying to get her a real bounty,” he added in a conspiratorial stage-whisper to Dax, whose expression only soured further.

Kitty smacked Ace upside the head. “No, we’re not! We’re getting a logpose and getting the hell out of here before that admiral decides to end us.  _ You  _ may be confident in your destructive talents, but I’m not as confident in mine.”

“Well that’s why we’ve got to have you face somebody of real caliber, get you some practice and notoriety all in one go,” Ace said firmly. “What about that admiral? That might be fun.”

“Ace.  _ No.” _

A door off to the side slammed open and Deuce and Mihar burst in, wide eyed and breathing heavy. “There you two are!” Mihar exclaimed. Both of them kept up the momentum, barreling towards them. “Did you find a logpose? We gotta go  _ now.” _

“Yeah, we found one, but-”

Kitty was cut off as Deuce grabbed her arm and jerked her along. Mihar did the same with Ace. “Good, because we need to  _ leave _ ,” Deuce said almost conversationally. He’d barely finished speaking before a massive gust of icy wind burst through the doors behind them, instantly coating the room in frost.

“Don’t tell me you provoked the admiral,” Kitty ground out between chattering teeth. Mihar grimaced and somehow managed to shrug while running. Ace cackled in delight.

“Oh shit, this is gonna be awesome!” he exclaimed. He shot Kitty a wild grin. “Let’s fight him.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kitty muttered. It figured that Ace was the only one of them unaffected by the increasingly painful cold; the ice was hot on their heels as the four of them bolted down the hallway. She jammed her numb fingers into her armpits. Shit, she was losing feeling in her toes too. Would it be better to take off her sandals to avoid tripping on the increasingly slick floor? Or would her bare feet stick to the frozen concrete? “Ace, this would be a  _ really _ good time to use your fire.”

“Hold on, are you saying I should fight? It sounds like you’re saying I should fight,” he called back cheerfully.

“I really wouldn’t advise that,” a voice said from behind them. Kitty glanced back to see none other than the admiral they’d run into earlier, reclined on a hunk of ice, skating across the floor towards them at breakneck speed. The admiral had an eye cover pushed back onto his forehead, as if he’d been interrupted from his nap. “It’ll be harder to arrest you if you’re frozen solid.”

“Or you could just let us go!” Mihar called back to the marine. “Just a thought!”

“I already gave you a shot, when you were smart enough to pretend to be caught kissing so you wouldn’t get into a fight. I was impressed by your quick thinking, but that was your one chance and you blew it.”

Deuce and Mihar actually stumbled, tripped, and slammed into wall instead of making the next turn on time. Both men turned to face Kitty and Ace, the former’s face burning bright red. “You two  _ kissed!?”  _ Mihar demanded. Even Deuce, cool-head extraordinaire, looked incredulous.

“Yes,” Ace said. 

“No!” Kitty exclaimed at the same time. They shared a quick look, and she relented. “The admiral found us before we found the logpose and I had to think fast to avoid a fight.”

“And I’m sure Ace just  _ hated _ that plan,” Deuce said dryly.

“You look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t let someone like her kiss you if she wanted,” Ace retorted. Kitty drug her hands down her face. Was it possible to will away the furious blush she knew was across her cheeks? Asking for a friend. 

“I wouldn’t. I’m gay, you know that.”

The admiral cleared his throat. “I’m still here, you know,” he said pointedly.

“Yeah hey I actually have a question. How did you know we weren’t marines?” Mihar asked.

The admiral blinked slowly. Kitty mentally face-palmed. Were they seriously just going to stand here and have a chat with someone with a powerful ice Devil Fruit? Apparently so. She watched warily as the admiral lifted a finger and pointed at Ace. “That one had his shirt unbuttoned. We don’t allow that in our dress code.”

“I  _ told  _ you to button your goddamn shirt,” Kitty hissed. Ace just shrugged innocently.

“Also, young Mr. Portgas D. Ace here has a 350 million berry bounty. So I also recognized him from his poster,” the admiral continued. Ace’s chest swelled with ego and pride, but it was the mischievous glint in his eye that caught her attention. She  _ knew _ that glint. She shot him a wary look.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t,” she warned.

His grin widened by a couple molars. “I’m gonna. Deuce, Mihar, leave this one to Kitty. Captain’s orders.”

Kitty swore vehemently under her breath even as Deuce and Mihar nodded and backed off. “Are you serious?” she demanded. “I can’t take on an admiral-”

“Have you ever tried?” Ace countered. “You said you trust me.”

“I do, you know that.”

“Then trust my judgement and my trust in  _ you _ . In fact...I’m gonna hold my solid form the whole time. I won’t use my flames. If this guy hits me now, that’s it for me. I trust you to protect me.”

Behind him, Deuce and Mihar were looking increasingly concerned, but all of Kitty’s incredulous stare was focused on her captain. It took a moment, but when she finally spoke her voice came out strangled. “You goddamn idiot-”

“Are you all done?” the admiral interrupted. Ice crackled around him, frost creeping up his sleeves and the air temperature dropped  _ again. _ “This isn’t a social visit, in case you all forgot.”

The admiral flicked his fingers, firing off forearm-sized ice spears toward them. They were easy enough for Kitty to block, but she still shot Ace a look that said “we’ll talk about this later”. He crossed his arms and smiled faintly in return.

This admiral fought  _ hard _ . No matter how much ice she deflected or cut or melted, there was always more...but then again she always had more lightning. Kitty ramped up the voltage, pushing harder. For a moment it looked like she was succeeding, but then the admiral doubled down.

“Sorry, young lady, ice is a poor conductor of electricity,” the admiral said casually. A fragment of ice slipped past her defenses and sliced her cheek. She ignored the sting and pressed forward, flipping her sword around and going for the kill. A sidestep, a quick twist around, and her sword struck home.

For a moment, she thought she’d done it. The admiral even sucked in a breath of surprise as he stared down at the cutlass sunk several inches deep into his chest. “Huh. Would you look at that,” he said thoughtfully. “You’re actually good.” As he spoke, frost sprouted around the sword and crept up the blade. Before she could jump back, his hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder, coating it with ice. Kitty gave a short, choked off scream as the skin there froze over.

“Kitty!” Mihar cried out. She didn’t dare turn to look at her crewmates, who had dutifully stayed back out of the fight. She didn’t have to look back to know Deuce was holding his friend back with a hand on the shoulder. Ace, true to his word, hadn’t released even a single lick of flame, and was watching carefully.

Baring her teeth, she reached with the arm that could still move and fumbled in the pocket sewn inside her skirt’s waistband. Her fingers closed on a small, round object, and her strength immediately flagged. She pulled together the last of her strength, reached up, and dropped the sea prism stone bullet down the collar of the admiral's shirt. The ice around them melted in an instant, splashing down onto the ground and soaking their clothes. Kitty grinned past the pain of the frostbite, smacked her hand flat onto the admiral’s face, and unloaded as much lightning into him as she could push out.

The admiral shuddered under the electrical onslaught. She jerked her sword free from where it was still embedded in his chest, and he sank to his knees, pressing his hand against his now freely-bleeding wound while trying to shake free the sea prism stone bullet at the same time.

Kitty didn’t wait to see how long it would take him to recover. “We’re leaving,” she barked at the men. Deuce and Mihar jumped a bit and started after her without question, but Ace just stood there frowning. “You too! Don’t make me use sea prism on you too!”

“Fine, fine,” he groused. The four of them took off down the hall, quickly leaving the admiral behind them. “You had him on the ropes.”

“He’s an ice logia, no amount of lightning I put out will take him down before he could kill me a dozen times over,” Kitty shot back. “This was the best option I had. It was lucky I kept that bullet Leonardo put in me.”

“Did you really hold onto it to use on me?” Ace said curiously.

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “That’s smart. I assume you don’t mean you were going to shoot me, though.”

“I’ve been considering it over the past several minutes.” Kitty turned to Deuce and held out the logpose. “Here, since you’re the navigator. Which way to the ship?”

“Assuming they’ve seen the marines here go on alert, Saber will have brought the Spadille closer to the main dock,” Mihar panted. “We’re headed that way now. Once we’re outside Ace should send up a flare so they know where we are and can come closer.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ace agreed.

“You don’t sound as happy as I thought you’d be about sending a middle finger to the marines,” Kitty pointed out. Ace kinda hemmed and hawed for a second before meeting her eyes.

“I wish we could’ve wreaked more havoc,” he said with a pout. “You promised.”

“Was fighting off two dozen marines single handedly not enough for you!?”

They turned another corner, and she spotted a glowing green “exit” sign up ahead. They all sped up, nearly sprinting for the main door. Kitty was just thinking to herself how it was convenient they hadn’t run into any other marines so far, when they burst outside...and were immediately surrounded by what appeared to be the entire rest of the marine base garrison.

Deuce groaned. “Oh, great.”

Kitty drew her sword. She could take down several on her own, as could Deuce and Mihar, and god knows Ace could take down a warship without breaking a sweat...but this was a  _ lot _ . Thinking fast, she turned to Ace, who raised an eyebrow.

“Wreak.”

His answering smile was as bright as the damn sun. “I think I just fell in love with you,” he replied.


	11. The Next Step

In the end, the escape from the marine base was slightly less easy than Kitty thought it would be, even with Ace going all-out against the garrison. It wasn’t that the marines here were particularly strong - in fact, it didn’t take much effort at all to mow a path through them with her lightning. It only took them a few minutes to get to the dock, just a short distance from where Saber had pulled the Spadille.

“Kitty! Ace! Deuce, Mihar!” Ducky stood on the Spadille’s rail, holding onto the rigging for support. He waved at them all. “Hurry up, you’ve got a ton of marines on your ass!”

“There’s two battleships coming around!” Saber shouted. “Hurry the hell up!”

Mihar climbed the ladder first with Deuce hot on his heels. Ace hung back to take incoming fire while Kitty boarded. And lucky he did; he’d just turned to climb aboard as well when a whipping gust of frozen air swept over them. Ace’s flames burst forth and deflected the razor-sharp edges of the ice hurtled towards them. Kitty could see the admiral striding out of the base doors, his front still covered in blood and looking  _ pissed. _ Well shit.

“We’re  _ not _ staying,” Kitty said sharply. “Get on the ship.”

“Last I heard,  _ I’m  _ the captain,” Ace called back. 

“I’m here to keep you from doing stupid shit, aren’t I? Get your ass on the damn ship.” The admiral was stalking closer; ice glimmered under the hot sun as every surface around him froze over. “We got the logpose, let’s just go!”

Ace turned and shot her a cocky grin. “Go ahead and set sail. I’ll be there in a sec.”

Kitty stared at him in slack-jawed disbelief, but Deuce just gave an exasperated sigh beside her. “If you lose, we’re leaving you behind,” he said sternly. Ace just laughed in response.

“I’ve never lost a fight a day in my life,” he called back. “Go on.”

Deuce laid his hand on Kitty’s shoulder. “You heard him. Let’s go.”

“But he’s about to do something stupid,” she argued.

“Yeah? Have you met him?”

Kitty leaned onto the railing, watching warily as the Spadille pulled away from the dock. The marines swiftly surrounded Ace, all with rifles aimed at him. The admiral had drawn to a stop just a short distance from him, staring down at him. She was too far away to hear what they said to each other, but the moment the men released their full power on one another, she still had to squint against the rush of heat radiation that burst forth.

If she’d thought Ace was strong before, that had been a massive understatement. Fed by the flurry of ice and flame, the rapidly heated and cooled air around them all blustered and howled, wafting fog everywhere and doing funny things to the Spadille’s sail. Behind her, Saber swore. “If this keeps up, we won’t have the speed to escape!” he exclaimed. 

Kitty cupped her hands around her mouth. “Ace! Hurry the hell up!”

In answer, Ace throttled up the flames. First turning white, then tinged with blue, he kept them focused on the admiral’s steadily encroaching wall of ice. She actually had to turn away, blinking away the spots in her vision.

The roar of the flame crescendoed and then cut out as a collective groan of dismay came from the shore. Beside her, Ducky whooped in victory. Ace’s fire had bored a hole through the admiral’s ice wall and struck him square on the chest, right on top of the wound Kitty had given him. Normally for a logia, such an attack would just pass on through. Such as it was, however, the admiral staggered and Ace leapt upon the opportunity. At his gesture, flames roared out on both sides, a wall of fire between the marines and their crew. 

The hot air filled the sail and pushed them out to sea even faster, but Ace had no trouble soaring across the expanse of ocean, propelled from behind by a column of roaring flame. He landed easily on the deck and gave a dramatic bow. “Ta da,” he said with a grin.

“About damn time,” Deuce groused. “Now that you’re done showing off, we can get going.”

“‘Aw gee Ace, thanks for saving us from the admiral.’ ‘No problem Deuce, it was a pleasure.’” Ace mimicked his friend in a wildly exaggerated impersonation of Deuce’s deadpan voice. Despite herself, Kitty couldn’t help but snicker at Deuce’s increasingly sour expression.

With Ace aboard now, Saber directed the Spadille towards the open sea with Deuce calling for course corrections now and then. They quickly ditched the marine base and the couple of pursuing navy ships, and soon it was just the Spades alone on the vast ocean.

“Phew! What a trip!” Ducky exclaimed. “I think the successful logpole raid calls for a party.”

“It’s a log _ pose,” _ Kitty corrected automatically. “You guys go ahead. I’m going to bed.”

“You alright? You didn’t get hurt in all that, did you?” Ace asked, walking over to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off quickly.

“No thanks to you,” she bit out. “What the  _ hell _ was with that stunt you pulled? I’m nowhere near able to take on a goddamn admiral!”

His face fell. “I know you were reluctant, but-”

“But nothing. I told you I couldn’t, but you didn’t listen to me!” Kitty jabbed him hard in the chest with an accusatory finger. He frowned down at her but held his ground. “Instead you make it a goddamn captain’s order. I understand sometimes we gotta follow orders we don’t like but a captain also needs to keep his crew’s capabilities in mind before he orders them to their deaths!”

Ace visibly flinched at that. Kitty turned on her heel and stalked towards the cabin. The rest of the crew, who’d silently been watching the confrontation, hastily stepped out of her way. The sharp smack of the door slamming echoed across the deck.

“Ace.” He turned to see Deuce coming up beside him. The shorter man gave him a stern look. “Go apologize.”

Ace groaned. “Yeah, I know. Fuck. I just wanted her to know she’s just as capable as I know she is.”

“Save the excuses for your vice captain.”

\---

Kitty had already climbed up into her hammock by the time Ace made his way downstairs. She’d laid on her side, back to the door, nowhere near asleep when she heard his familiar steps coming over. “What is it?” she said without looking back. “I’m tired.”

“I came to apologize.”

“Huh?” Kitty sat upright and turned around, only to find the room empty. No, it wasn’t empty; Ace was there, on his hands and knees, forehead pressed to the floor. She blinked and blinked again before settling for a confused scowl. “What the hell are you doing?”

Ace didn’t move from his spot on the floor. “Apologizing. You weren’t ready for that fight and I made you do it anyway. It was wrong of me.”

Despite her lingering irritation, a blush popped up on her cheeks. She rolled her eyes. “Get up, you idiot. Getting splinters in your forehead is a pretty poor apology.”

He lifted his head, but didn’t move from his spot on the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I know. Sheesh, quit making an ass of yourself.”

Ace finally got up off the floor and plopped down on a nearby hammock. “I seem to be doing a lot of that today.”

“No more so than usual.” Kitty turned and dangled her legs off the side of the hammock. “Did you have anything else to say, or did you just want to apologize?”

“Well, I could explain the reasoning behind my fuck-up, if you want, but something tells me you’re smart enough that I don’t need to explain it to you.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I know. And I know you had good intentions. I just don’t like getting into fights if I can avoid them at all.”

Ace leaned his chin on his palm. “Because of Leonardo?”

She huffed a sigh. “In part. The ship he had me on was shitty as hell. Always picking fights, always choosing the aggressive route. The vice captain in particular liked to push me into fights I didn’t wanna have. I think he liked watching me squirm.”

“Bastard,” Ace said automatically. “We should’ve gone to beat the hell out of them too after we took care of Leonardo.”

She shook her head. “No, who knows where they are now? And honestly I’d rather just forget they exist. Maybe some sea king will do me a favor someday and eat them.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

The two of them were silent for a long time before Kitty spoke. “Does Deuce know which island we’re headed to now? Does he know how to work the logpose?”

Ace leaned back, looking thoughtfully into the distance. “Yeah, he and Mihar grabbed a couple maps of the upcoming area. I dunno the name of the island, but Deuce seems to be confident we’re headed in the right direction.”

“I guess I’ll just have to trust him, then.”

\---

The trip to the first real island on the Grand Line took roughly a day and a half, giving them all a chance to cool off and wind down. Banshee made sandwiches, and Ossamondo served tea, and the Spades all took the time to rest and catch their breath. While on the marine base, Deuce and Mihar had managed to find one of the ranking marine’s offices, and had pilfered as much stuff as they could get their hands on; maps, reports, a small purse full of money, and even a ship log. Kitty spent a good portion going over everything with Deuce and Ace, figuring out what would be of use to them and what was just taking up space.

They didn’t have long to relax, however; before the next island even appeared over the horizon, it was preceded by the biggest thundercloud any of them had ever seen. Even miles out, thunder rumbled and echoed over the ocean. A particularly bright flash of lightning caught her eye, and Kitty whistled in appreciation.

“Do you think you could make a blast that powerful?” Ace asked.

“Not a chance. Not like that, anyway. I can almost rival ordinary thunderstorms, but  _ that _ is no ordinary storm,” she answered, gesturing to the anvil of the storm. “A lightning strike from something like that could probably kill even me.”

“Is it bad that I’m tempted to test that?”

“Do not.”

The thunder grew louder and louder as the Spadille drew closer to the island. Over at the helm, Deuce checked the logpose for the third time in as many minutes. He sighed. “That’s where the logpose is pointing,” he said heavily.

Ace clapped a hand down on his shoulder. “C’mon, Deuce, it’ll be fun. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Saber pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t start that. Every time you say that, you drag us all into some crazy bullshit.”

“Alright! Geez. Y’all are harsh today.” Ace shook his head good-naturedly, holding his hands up in surrender. “Still, we’ll have to stay on the island for a while, no matter what the weather does.”

“What do you mean?” Saber said.

“He’s right. I read some of the papers Mihar swiped from the marine base, one of which was thankfully an instruction sheet for logposes,” Kitty chimed in. “Different islands have different times for how long it takes the logpose to catch the magnetic force for the next island. Some are as few as a couple hours, others can be a couple weeks. I think I heard of one island taking a year to set.”

Ducky went pale at that. “You think we have to spend a year on this hell island?”

“No. I mean, probably not. What are the chances of that?” Kitty shrugged.

Mihar groaned. “That’s just as bad as Ace saying ‘what’s the worst that could happen’.”

“You two are perfect for each other,” Deuce muttered.

Kitty whipped around to shoot him a look, intending to ask the navigator exactly what he meant by that-

“Something’s coming up from the water!” Ossamondo called from the crow’s nest.

“From the water?”

They all headed over to the railing to peer over the side; sure enough, the water was roiling as something  _ big _ emerged from the depths. Kitty watched in awe as it breached, spraying them all with a fine mist. “Is it a whale?” Ducky wondered aloud.

“That’s a submarine!” Kitty exclaimed. “I’ve only seen them in books!”

Sure enough, it was a sleek black submarine that now bobbed on the surface. They all watched, amazed as a hatch opened and an imposing, blonde figure stepped out. The tall woman crossed her arms and stared them all down.

“I don’t know who you assholes are, but you need to leave now,” she said abruptly. “The lightning will tear that boat to shreds.”

Ace bristled. “Boat!?”

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Kitty called over. “We just need to stay long enough for the logpose to set.”

“No,” the woman retorted. “I’ve had enough pirates come this way to know. Your  _ boat _ will never survive the storms long enough for your log to set. And if I took just you to the island and left your ship out here a safe distance away, you would just wreck shit and ruin my facility. Go away.”

“But if our log can’t set, then how are we supposed to navigate?” Deuce shot back. “We can’t just wander the ocean until we happen across an island. We’d die.”

“Not my problem.”

“What kind of facility is it?” Kitty asked. The woman’s steely eyes fell onto her, assessing for a moment before she spoke.

“We harvest the lightning and sell the energy to neighboring islands,” she said finally. “As you can imagine it’s very dangerous and expensive work. All the more reason I don’t allow unknowns - especially idiot rookie pirates - onto my island.”

“Okay, I have a proposition. What if most of our crew stays here, on the ship, and you allow, like, two or three of us onto your island?” Kitty suggested carefully. “You take us in your submarine so our ship doesn’t get damaged. You’ll have complete control. We stay just long enough for the log to set, then we leave and you never hear from us again.”

The woman scoffed. “Why the hell should I do that?”

Kitty held her hands out in front of her, close together as if cradling something in her palms. The first sparks were small, but as she spread her hands they grew brighter, crackling ominously through the air and up her arms. She even had to squint to be able to see around the arcs. After a few seconds, she released the lightning and lowered her hands. “I’m sure a smart woman like you can figure out some use for a lightning devil fruit user on an island that harvests lightning.”

The woman snorted. “I don’t like flattery. And I don’t like flatterers. But I’ll admit I’m intrigued. You,” she pointed at Kitty, “can come aboard. Pick two crewmates and hurry the hell up. I don’t have all day.” And with that, she disappeared back down into the submarine.

Kitty turned back, catching Ace’s and Deuce’s eyes. “Come on you guys,” she said, jerking her head back towards the submarine. “I don’t think she’ll wait for us forever.”


End file.
